Soldiers of Eternity
by Sylver Skye
Summary: After defeating Mariemeia, the Gundam pilots no longer have to fight or do they? When the pilots gather after putting down the coup, they discover that Heero has been keeping a secret from them, one that will change their lives forever. Shounen aiYaoi
1. Not What He Seems

Soldiers of Eternity  
  


A.N. - Dramatic title, I know. It was the first thing that popped into my head, and it fit the idea that I had.   
  


Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. I wish I did, but who wouldn't?  
  


Chapter 1:  
  


Heero suppressed a groan as he woke, feeling as though he'd just been trampled by a herd of elephants. What had happened to him anyways? Oh, right. He'd fallen out of the sky in Zero, then jumped into an underground base. He was starting to wish that he'd been run over by elephants instead. It had been painful enough flying Zero at that point, but crash-landing was even worse. But the wars were over.

"Finally," Heero thought to himself. "Now I can rest." Then he suddenly remembered what he had to try and explain to the others. "But how can I tell them that none of us are really human? I know none of them want to fight again, just like me. How can I tell them that we're really angels and that we're the immortal defenders of humankind? Maybe I should wait a few years, until they notice that none of us are aging like humans are supposed to. Wait, why do I feel like I have my wings back?" He shifted slightly to confirm what the feathery things next to him on the bed were. "Oh shit. Well, there goes the option of not telling them until later." It was then that Duo decided to bounce into the room.  
  


"Hey, Heero buddy. I see you're finally awake. Want something to eat..." Duo's exuberant speech trailed away as Heero sat up slightly on the bed.   
  


"Uhhh, Heero, did you know that you have wings?"  
  


"Yes, Duo. I did know that I have wings."  
  


"Why do you have wings? I mean, c'mon, I think I would've noticed you having fucking WINGS before!"   
  


"I don't know why my wings have decided to reappear at the moment. But I want to get everyone together before I explain WHY I have wings. It's important that all the other Gundam pilots hear it, and I really don't want to have to repeat it."  
  


"Sounds good man. We're all staying in this hotel we dragged your sorry ass to after you passed out. I can have everyone rounded up in a couple minutes. Wait a second, reappear? You mean you had them before? And you never told me? I thought I was your friend!"  
  


"You are my friend. I just couldn't tell anyone about this before now. Besides, would you have really believed me?"  
  


"You have a point. I would've thought you landed on your head again, or that Zero was making you hallucinate if you'd told me earlier that you had wings. Hey, is that why Zero has wings?"  
  


"I don't know, Duo. It's possible, but I'm not sure if J ever really figured out what I am."

"So what are you?"  
  


"I'll tell you when you get the other pilots here."  
  


"Awww, not even a hint?"

"I have WINGS sprouting out of my back. What more of a hint do you need?"  
  


"Alright, alright. I'll get the others. Did you want to tell anyone other than the pilots?"  
  


"No, I think it's best that this remain between us for now," stated Heero decisively. Duo nodded and left the room, while Heero sat down to think about how he was going to explain this.  
  


"Duo took finding out I have wings better than I expected. I hope the others are as accepting. I don't want any of them to hate me because I told them what they are. Although I wouldn't be surprised, considering that's pretty much what my reaction was when I found out about all this." He suddenly slammed his fist into the bedside table, breaking it cleanly in half. "Dammit, all I wanted to do was rest when this fucking war was over. I wanted a chance to be 'normal'. But that's a chance I don't think I've ever had, and never will now." Heero heard approaching footsteps and made an effort to compose himself. It wouldn't help the situation if he wasn't able to explain everything calmly and rationally. Then the door slowly opened and he braced himself for the storm of questions and explanations that would surely follow.  
  


Trowa was the first in the door, and he seemed to be unaffected by the sight in front of him, but Heero saw his visible eye widen in surprise. He was followed by Quatre, who proceeded to faint, almost smacking face first into the floor before Trowa managed to catch him. Heero almost laughed at that. Wufei came in second last, followed by Duo, who was in hysterics at Quatre's reaction. Then Wufei noticed Heero and immediately drew his katana.  
  


"Who are you, and why do you look like Heero? What have you done with him?" he demanded. That just made Duo laugh even harder, while Heero just shot him a dry look.  
  


"I am Heero, Wufei. I just have wings now."  
  


"I don't believe you. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Heero? Answer me you bastard, before I kill you."  
  


"Wufei, it's really me. I'm Heero. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it. Ask me a question you think only Heero would know the answer to."  
  


"Alright," he agreed. It took him about five minutes to think of a good question, one only Heero and himself would know the answer to. "What did you say to me before you dove into the ocean?"  
  


"I asked you how many more times I had to kill that girl and her dog, because Zero wouldn't tell me." The shock on Wufei's face when I answered the question correctly was so funny that I finally let out the laugh that had been threatening since they walked in the door. That shocked him even further.   
  


"So you're really Heero, huh? Mind explaining why you have wings?" he said finally.  
  


"That's exactly why I asked all of you to come here. As soon as Quatre wakes up, I'll tell you." 

Trowa looked up from where he was crouched over Quatre and said, "he's coming around now."  
  


"Good."   
  


Just then a groggy Quatre finally woke up. "What happened? Why did I think I saw Heero with wings?"  
  


"You fainted because you did see Heero with wings," replied Duo. "Just don't faint again, k? I don't think Tro can catch you as well a second time." Quatre blushed bright red upon hearing that he had fainted and that Trowa had caught him.  
  


"Everyone might as well get comfortable before I start," suggested Heero. "I have a lot to tell you all, so this is going to take awhile." The others nodded and seated themselves at various places around the room. Wufei perched himself on an uncomfortable looking chair, Trowa and Quatre occupied the couch, and Duo plopped himself on the bed next to Heero. Heero took a deep breath before starting. "The reason I have wings is because I'm an angel."  
  


"WHAAAT?" four voices exclaimed in unison.

A.N. - I know, I'm evil for ending it there. I didn't want to say too much in the first chapter, so I'll be posting a second one soon (hopefully) Please review! I want to know what people honestly think of this. Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not.


	2. Revelations

A.N. - Thanks to ally127 and ivana delas for reviewing. I hope you like this chapter. Did I update soon enough for you?  
  


Last Chapter:  
  


"Everyone might as well get comfortable before I start," suggested Heero. "I have a lot to tell you all, so this is going to take awhile." The others nodded and seated themselves at various places around the room. Wufei perched himself on an uncomfortable looking chair, Trowa and Quatre occupied the couch, and Duo plopped himself on the bed next to Heero. Heero took a deep breath before starting. "The reason I have wings is because I'm an angel."  
  


"WHAAAT?" four voices exclaimed in unison.  
  


* * *

Chapter 2:   
  


"And so are all of you," continued Heero. This time the volume of the others' reactions was so loud, other guests of the hotel were demanding they quiet down.  
  


"WHAAAAT!!!!!!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE ANGELS?" shouted the other pilots.  
  


"Yeah, none of us have wings like you," pointed out Duo.  
  


"Yes, you do," Heero informed him. "But like my wings were, they are hidden. You might want to take off your shirts, unless you want to lose them." The others complied hesitantly before Heero waved a hand through the air that glowed deep blue, and suddenly wings appeared on their backs. Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei had white wings; but like Heero's, Duo's were not. He had black wings, while Heero's were deep blue, the same colour as his hand had glowed.   
  


"See, wings," stated Heero calmly.   
  


"How long have you known about this?" asked Trowa quietly.  
  


"Since I was five," replied Heero. "And before you ask; no, I couldn't have told you about this before. I wasn't allowed to. I didn't want to anyways though. I had hoped that all of us would get to lead normal lives before I had to tell you about this, but when my wings appeared this morning, I knew it was time.  
  


"When I was five years old, I had an angel appear to me and tell me what I'm about to tell you. We were chosen at birth to become angels. They needed people to protect humans, and because we were already fated to become Gundam pilots, they chose us. They being the Powers that Be. I don't know why they chose to tell me about it first, but since I had been training with Odin to become an assassin since I could walk, my initial reaction was to draw my gun on the angel."  
  


"Only you would draw your gun when you saw an angel," laughed Duo.  
  


"The angel said the exact same thing. Then he told me that I had been chosen, along with four others, to become an angel and protect the world. I didn't believe him at first, then he made my wings appear. Then he told me about the four of you, but said that even once I met you, I wasn't allowed to tell you any of this until after the second war we fought. I accepted what he said as truth, but didn't want it to be true, so I tried to forget about it. That's why I tried to kill myself all those times. If I could die, it wouldn't be true. It's also why I was so cold to you all when we first met. Meeting you was further proof that the angel I met had been telling the truth.  
  


"Anyways, since we're angels, we're immortal. At about 20 or so, our bodies will stop aging and we'll stay like that until the end of the world. We all have special powers that will develop further the older we get. Quatre's empathic ability is one of these powers."  
  


"Oh, so that's why you're so strong Heero," Quatre said.  
  


"Actually, no, it's not. I'm naturally this strong. I could bend metal before I met the angel, and I've gotten stronger since. I have some telepathic and telekinetic skill as my abilities; although I've made an effort not to use them, which is why they aren't very developed. I believe that Wufei is able to create fire, Trowa can communicate with animals, and Duo can make himself unnoticeable, practically invisible. And the five of us have to protect Earth and the colonies from whatever threats happen to appear.  
  


"I would suggest that we not get rid of our Gundams, but keep them hidden until we absolutely have to use them. Most threats that come up for awhile will be small anyways, so we should be able to eliminate them without the use of mobile suits. Other than that, we have to figure out what we're going to do with the rest of forever."  
  


"How are we going to explain our wings?" asked Trowa.  
  


"We can make them appear and disappear whenever we want now. You just have to concentrate on it," replied Heero, demonstrating by making his go away and come back.  
  


"How are we going to explain this to everyone else? There are some people we can trust, but the majority of people are going to be suspicious when we don't age," pointed out Quatre.  
  


"We can tell the people we trust, but eventually we're going to just have to disappear. I thought we could work with the Preventers for awhile, then go off on our own," was Heero's response.  
  


"That makes sense, Yuy," agreed Wufei.   
  


"I'm glad you're all taking this so well. I was expecting you to hate me for telling you that you can never live normal lives."  
  


"How could you have expected us to hate you for this?" exclaimed Duo. It's not your fault that the Powers that Be chose us. I feel bad that you had to find this out so young. I'm sure it couldn't have been easy, keeping it a secret so long." Heero stared at Duo, shocked. He hadn't been expecting anyone to feel sorry for him. It never occurred to him that anyone would feel that way. He decided to do something that was very uncharacteristic of the way he'd acted to the other pilot up to that point. He hugged him.  
  


"Thank you, Duo," he said softly. After Duo got over his surprise, he hugged Heero back. The others just watched, stunned, as the previously icy Wing pilot actually HUGGED someone.  
  


"What are you thanking me for?" asked Duo, curious.  
  


"For actually caring about how I feel. It's the first time I can think of that anyone has." To the others, that explained a lot about Heero. Noone cared about him, so he didn't care about anyone else.  
  


Quatre was the first to interrupt the quiet moment. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. We all met pretty late, and this is a lot of information to digest. I suggest that we all go to bed, and meet up first thing tomorrow to talk about what we're going to do." The others agreed and got up to leave. All except Duo and Heero. When the others left, Heero turned to look at Duo.  
  


"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.  
  


"Umm, not really. I was just wondering....canIstayheretonight?" he asked in a rush. "I - uh - I get nightmares sometimes, but they don't come if I'm sleeping in the same room as someone else. I won't be any trouble, I'll sleep on the couch...."  
  


"It's alright, Duo," Heero interrupted. "You can stay here tonight if you want. And you don't have to sleep on the couch. This is a huge bed, there's enough room for two."  
  


"Thank you Heero," cried Duo, hugging him again.  
  


"This is a nice feeling," thought Heero. "I'll have to hug people more often if it feels like this. I'm so glad that none of them hate me, that would be awful. I thought it wouldn't hurt as much if I didn't let anyone get close to me, but I don't have to keep that distance anymore now that they know." He smiled inwardly that Duo had asked to stay with him of all people. "Maybe I can stop hiding how much I like him now too." With that final thought, he climbed into bed and was quickly asleep.


	3. Discussions

Disclaimer: I don't Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Don't bother suing me 'cause I have no money. I spent it all on anime.

Last Chapter:

"Umm, not really. I was just wondering....canIstayheretonight?" he asked in a rush. "I - uh - I get nightmares sometimes, but they don't come if I'm sleeping in the same room as someone else. I won't be any trouble, I'll sleep on the couch...."

"It's alright, Duo," Heero interrupted. "You can stay here tonight if you want. And you don't have to sleep on the couch. This is a huge bed, there's enough room for two."

"Thank you Heero," cried Duo, hugging him again.

_ "This is a nice feeling,"_ thought Heero. _"I'll have to hug people more often if it feels like this. I'm so glad that none of them hate me, that would be awful. I thought it wouldn't hurt as much if I didn't let anyone get close to me, but I don't have to keep that distance anymore now that they know."_ He smiled inwardly that Duo had asked to stay with him of all people. _"Maybe I can stop hiding how much I like him now too."_ With that final thought, he climbed into bed and was quickly asleep.

* * *

Chapter 3:

The next morning Heero awoke with the feeling that something was different. He soon found the source of the feeling in the boy sleeping next to him. Sometime in the night, Duo had moved onto Heero's side of the bed. He was curled up and holding tightly onto Heero's arm like it was a lifeline. Heero didn't know what to do, since noone had ever treated his arm like a stuffed animal before, so he decided to just lay quietly and wait for Duo to wake up. He didn't have to wait long. Duo soon stirred, shifting slightly as he rejoined the waking world. It was very evident when he realized exactly what he'd been holding on to in his sleep. His eyes were opened as wide as they would go, waiting for Heero's reaction.

_"Holy shit, I can't believe I did that! Heero's going to kill me!"_ he thought frantically to himself. Out loud he said, "uh, sorry about that Heero. I didn't mean to grab you like that. I don't know what I was thinking."

Heero took in Duo's wide-eyed expression and stammered explanation and smiled. _"He probably thinks I'm going to kill him,"_ he thought wryly. Duo's eyes opened even wider - if that was possible - when he smiled.

"It's all right Duo. I don't really mind. You were sleeping after all."

"You mean, you're not going to kill me?" Duo sounded incredulous.

"No, Duo, I'm not going to kill you. I know I threatened to all those times, but I never actually would've done it. I was just trying to push you guys away."

"Why would you want to push us away?"

"So that when I told you about us being angels and you hated me, it wouldn't bother me as much. It's easier to have someone you don't really know hate you than someone who had been a friend."

"You really were expecting us to hate you, weren't you?"

"Why wouldn't I have? I knew that anyone who was the type to become a Gundam pilot would know the price of immortality. It's only those who aren't willing to sacrifice themselves for others who would actually want to be immortal. I thought you'd hate me for being the one to tell you that you can never be normal."

"Oh, Heero. All of us know that it's not your fault that all of this is happening. You didn't choose to make us angels. No true friend would hate you for being the messenger anyways." With that, Duo hugged Heero. He stiffened at first, still not used to such contact, but soon relaxed into it.

___"So this is what it's like to have a friend,"_ he thought. "Thank you, Duo."

"You're welcome, Heero. Should we go get the others to finish yesterday's discussion?"

"Let's get them for breakfast first. Then we can talk about what we're going to do now. We do have forever after all."

Duo laughed at that. "You're right. Breakfast is a good idea. Hey, do we even still need to eat?"

"No," replied Heero. "But why shouldn't we? If we absolutely have to, we'll go without food, but just because we don't need to eat doesn't mean the food doesn't taste good anymore."

"I like the way you think! To breakfast!" It was Heero's turn to laugh at Duo's enthusiasm. They went from door to door, waking the others up to eat. Once everyone had gathered, they located the hotel's restaurant. Over breakfast, they discussed plans for the immediate future.

"I liked the suggestion you made yesterday, Heero, about working for the Preventers for awhile. It means I'll have to find someone to take over my company for me though," said Quatre.

"It's better that you have someone take over now though, Quatre," pointed out Duo. "After all, in a company that big, someone's bound to notice that you aren't aging, and it would be really suspicious if you just disappear later."

"I agree with Duo," stated Heero. "If we're all working at the Preventers, it's possible that we fake our death on a mission to give a plausible reason for our disappearance. We can let Une, Sally and Noin know about our being angels, but we'll still need to give some kind of excuse to the rest of the force."

"What are you going to do about Relena, Heero?" asked Duo, not really wanting to know.

"I'll tell her what we are," he replied.

"No, I mean, didn't you want to be with her?"

"Relena is a friend, nothing more. She feels like a sister to me. What about you and Hilde? I don't know if you like her, but it's obvious she likes you."

"I'll just tell her what I am. She's a realistic girl, she'll know what that means. I don't want to get into a relationship with someone who'll get old and die while I still look young."

"What'll you tell Catherine, Trowa?" asked Quatre.

"She thinks of herself as my sister, so I'll tell her what I am now. It shouldn't be a problem with her. What about your sisters, Quatre? What will they think of all this?"

"I'm going to ask for their help in turning the company over to someone else, most likely one of them. They know what to do, they've been helping out with it anyways."

"There's a lot of people we have to tell about this," observed Wufei. "At least they're all trustworthy."

"Should we tell them all individually, or get them together in a big group?" wondered Quatre.

"We can tell them in small groups, some people already talk to each other on a regular basis. Une, Noin, Zechs, Relena, Sally, Hilde, and possibly Dorothy would be one, Quatre's sisters another. Catherine will have to be told on her own. Did you want to tell the Maguanac Corps or Howard?" asked Heero.

"Howard, I almost forgot about him!" exclaimed Duo. "Yeah, I'd like to let him know. The Maguanac too. They've been through a lot with us, they should be told. Right, Quatre?"

"Right."

"Now all we have to do is tell them. Trowa, I assume that you want to tell Catherine on your own. She doesn't really like the rest of us anyways. Quatre, you should probably tell your sisters on your own as well. There's a lot you have to work with them on anyways. I thought that while you two are doing that; Duo, Wufei and I could go tell Howard and talk to Une and the others about working at the Preventers. Then we can all meet again and let the Maguanac Corps know," suggested Heero.

"Good plan," agreed Trowa. Later that day, the group split off to meet with their assigned people.

* * *

A.N. - Hooray! My longest chapter yet! I hope I spelled Maguanac right. If I got it wrong, could someone tell me the correct spelling? Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope to post one chapter a week from now on. Please review! 


	4. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters. Don't bother suing me 'cause I have no money.

A.N. - Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :D Sorry everyone, I didn't mean to take so long to update, but I got stuck, then I went away for the weekend.... There is swearing in this chapter, if you don't like it then don't read it.

Dragongirl85- No need to threaten, I have no intention of giving it up. Lol.

scotty-lass- Thanks. That explanation seemed to fit the best as to why Heero was being OOC.

Lord Aries Greymon- Too bad, I thought of the plot first, it's mine. :P lol. shrugs sheepishly I actually didn't think about any specific types of angel when I wrote this. In fact, I didn't know there were any. I just wanted to give them special abilities, and fire seemed most appropriate for Wufei, given his mobile suit and Dragon clan heritage. As for why Heero's wings are blue: he's so strong and cares so much, though he doesn't show it, I decided to make him the Guardian of Earth (although I wasn't going to mention that 'til later. As for Duo's being black, he's the Angel of Death (as if you couldn't guess) The others may eventually be given a specific purpose, but I haven't figured that out yet. As to whether the wings work, you'll have to wait and see. ;)

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"Now all we have to do is tell them. Trowa, I assume that you want to tell Catherine on your own. She doesn't really like the rest of us anyways. Quatre, you should probably tell your sisters on your own as well. There's a lot you have to work with them on anyways. I thought that while you two are doing that; Duo, Wufei and I could go tell Howard and talk to Une and the others about working at the Preventers. Then we can all meet again and let the Maguanac Corps know," suggested Heero.

"Good plan," agreed Trowa. Later that day, the group split off to meet with their assigned people.

* * *

Chapter 4: 

"So how do we start?" asked Duo.

"Start what?" asked Heero. He had yet to get used to Duo's random questions asked seemingly out of nowhere. They were on their way, along with Wufei, to the meeting they had arranged with Hilde, Relena, Zechs, Noin, Sally, Une, and Dorothy.

"Start telling them of course! What did you think I was talking about?"

"Well, considering our original discussion was about fighting styles of the past, you could have been talking about starting a fight," pointed out Wufei logically.

"I suggest we just tell them, and maybe give them a demonstration," cut in Heero, going back to Duo's original question. "It's not something that's going to be easy to accept, no matter how we word it, so we may as well just be blunt. Once they've gotten over their shock, we can discuss with them steps to keep it hidden from the general public."

"That sounds good," agreed Wufei. "I nominate you as our spokesman. You've done a good job explaining this so far." Duo agreed loudly, clapping Heero on the back. Heero sighed inwardly, but had to admit that he was the logical choice to explain it all. At the end of the hallway, they stopped at a large oaken door. Inside the room were the people who he now had to inform about the changes that the Gundam pilots had gone through.

"Oh well," thought Heero before turning the handle and stepping inside. Relena immediately exclaimed joyously upon seeing him, although she seemed to have mostly outgrown her childish crush. Hilde got up to hug Duo, while the others were calmer in their greeting. The hellos finished, Une was the first to remind them of the purpose of the meeting.

"I believe you had something to tell us...?" she asked.

"Yes, that is why we called you all here," Heero replied. "But before I tell you, you have to all agree that _nothing _that is said here goes beyond this room. If you cannot agree to that, you should leave now." The others looked intrigued and nodded. They were willing to agree not to discuss anything said there after they left. "All right. The reason we asked you here today is because all of the Gundam pilots have been...changed, for lack of a better word."

"Changed how?" Sally interjected, sounding slightly concerned.

"None of us are exactly human anymore. We're angels now, and are immortal. That's the main reason for you being here. Aside from the fact that you're pretty much the closest thing to family any of us have, we're going to need some help covering up the fact that we won't age." At the end of his explanation, there was a stunned silence before everyone exploded into stunned exclamations and questions, too many for Heero to respond to at once. He finally had to resort to glaring at them all until the room was silent once more.

"Thank you," he said calmly. "If you're wondering when this happened, I was changed when I was about five years old. That's when another angel explained all this to me. The others were changed about a week ago, when I was finally allowed to tell them what they were. I don't know why I was told first, but we're supposed to be the protectors of Earth and the colonies, and wherever else humans might happen to go in the future. The Powers that Be chose us because they knew what we would become later in life, and decided that we would be the best ones to stick with the job. Mostly because none of us would ever want the kind of power they'd have to give us to do it properly.

"Boy, you guys get stuck with all the shitty jobs, don't you?" commented Noin. Heero laughed at that.

"That's because we're the only ones crazy enough to do them," he responded. Most of the others just stared and wondered inwardly when exactly Heero had developed a sense of humour. Duo read their looks of disbelief accurately and decided to join the conversation.

"Oi, Heero, don't you think you've shocked them enough for the day? I think the part about how we're angels was enough, you don't need to show off your personality change as well. I mean, I was shocked as hell when I woke up cuddling your arm and you didn't kill me."

"I would never have killed you, Duo. Just pounded on you for a bit. After all, you _were_ important to the mission. Besides, I think they can handle the shock. They haven't even seen our wings yet."

"You have wings!" yelled the majority of the room.

"Well duh! We're angels, aren't we? Doesn't that normally imply that we have wings?" answered Duo; who, ever the exhibitionist, promptly removed his shirt and made his wings appear. Heero and Wufei exchanged glances, shrugged, and copied him. The reaction to that was mixed. Une, Zechs, and Noin looked bemused; Sally looked like she wanted to study them; and Dorothy, Relena, and Hilde walked over to feel the feathers.

A.N. - Sorry for ending there, but it's late and I wanted to stop while what I was writing was still coherent. I'll get another chapter up as soon as possible, but no promises as to how soon that will be.


	5. Dealing With Changes

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters, although I do look a lot like Duo.

A.N. - Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hope this chapter is out soon enough for you!

scotty-lass - Thanks. And you'll find out in this chapter what Relena's reaction will be.

crazy-lil-nae-nae - I'll try.

Hikaru - Yes, I like 1×2 as well. There will be more soon. Should I up the rating though? I don't know how people react to guy pairings.

Windy River - Is this soon enough for you?

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"You have wings!" yelled the majority of the room.

"Well duh! We're angels, aren't we? Doesn't that normally imply that we have wings?" answered Duo; who, ever the exhibitionist, promptly removed his shirt and made his wings appear. Heero and Wufei exchanged glances, shrugged, and copied him. The reaction to that was mixed. Une, Zechs, and Noin looked bemused; Sally looked like she wanted to study them; and Dorothy, Relena, and Hilde walked over to feel the feathers.

* * *

Chapter 5: 

Eventually the pilots got uncomfortable having the girls playing with their wings, and started to look for a way to get them to stop. It was Heero who finally came up with a solution.

"We can actually use our wings too, you know," he told the room.

"We can?" said Duo and Wufei. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Because I didn't want you testing them by jumping off a building," Heero replied dryly. "They work, but you have to learn how to use them first. There's a lot of new muscles that you have to get used to having."

Duo snorted at that. "Oh, so you're allowed to go building diving but we aren't? I was there for that stunt of yours, jumping out of a fifty-something story hospital. Sally and Relena saw it too."

"I survived, didn't I? And you jumped out of the building right beside me!"

"I didn't go headfirst though!"

"But are you denying that if I'd told you about our wings working earlier, you wouldn't have headed to the nearest tall object to test them? What did you think they were for anyways, decoration?"

"I - I didn't really think about it. I mean, all the angels you see in movies just kind of hover there, they don't actually fly. You know, you were easier to talk to when you DIDN'T talk!" Heero just laughed at that.

"Well, our kind of angel can't just hover there, we have to actually fly. If everyone will back up, I'll show you." He extended his massive wings, swept them through the air slowly a few times, then with a massive push took off. He flew a short distance, then touched down again. "I would have gone farther, but even in a room this size, it's hard to fly inside."

"When did you practice, Heero? You haven't really had your wings for much longer than us, unless you learned how to fly when you were five," commented Wufei.

"No, I didn't have my wings for long enough to learn when I was five. But I did go out to the roof of our hotel to practice." He gave Duo a dry look. "And no, I didn't do a header off the roof. I stayed on it. For one thing, I didn't know how well my wings would work; and for another, I don't know how well others would take the sight of a person with wings flying around the city."

Heero then turned back to Une and Sally. "We came here today to tell you all this, but also to ask for your help. Since we're immortal, we aren't going to age. The five of us wanted to join the Preventers for awhile, and then we're going to need your help disappearing. We're also going to need to be partnered to another pilot, so that we aren't working too closely with someone who'll notice when we don't look older."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," commented Sally.

Heero smiled ruefully. "I've had a lot of time to plan it out, since I've known something like this would happen for a long time. Can you help us though?"

"Of course," replied Une. "After all you've done to help us, this is the least we can do. I'll get you set up with the Preventers right away. But there's an uneven number of pilots. Did you want to have one group of three?"

"Actually," cut in Wufei, "I wouldn't mind working with Sally as my partner, if she wouldn't mind. She was the one who originally invited me to join the Preventers, and she knows that I won't age, so that won't be a problem. I'll just join up with the other pilots if they need me."

"That's all right with me, Wufei," said Sally. Wufei looked to Heero for his approval, and got a nod.

"So what about the rest of the pilots?" asked Une.

This time it was Duo who answered, "Q and Tro seem to work well together, so..."

"...they can be partners. Duo and I also work well with each other, so we'll be a team as well," Heero finished for him.

_"Heero thinks we work well together?"_ Duo thought to himself. _"That's news to me, but it's nice to hear." _Out loud he said, "now that we've got that settled, I think that's pretty much everything we wanted to talk about. The rest can be settled later. Can I talk to you though, Hilde?"

"Sure, Duo," she replied, following him to a small alcove at the side of the room.

"Hil, I know you kinda like me, but with me being immortal, I don't think it can go anywhere. It wouldn't be fair to either of us, but I still want to be friends with you. You're kinda like the sister I never had."

"Oh, Duo, I understand. I'll always be your friend. You and the other pilots can be my honorary big brothers, k?" she said, giggling.

"Thanks, Hilde. I knew you'd understand. And you'd better be careful. Making us your big brothers means that you're going to have all of the Gundam pilots inspecting anyone who wants to go out with you," he threatened playfully.

She laughed in return. "I guess that means that anyone I date will have to be able to stand up to Heero's glare then. Don't worry, I'll manage. If the guys I date aren't good enough for you guys, then I don't want to date them." She hugged him tightly. "It's got to be hard for you though, knowing that you'll see almost everyone you know now grow old and die."

"It is hard, but the reality of it hasn't fully sunk in yet. It's just something I'm going to have to get used to though, we all will." The two stayed in the alcove awhile longer, lost in their thoughts about what life was going to be like from now on. In another part of the room, Relena and Heero were having a similar sort of conversation. She had pulled him aside when the main discussion was finished, and it was soon apparent that the reality of the situation hadn't yet sunk in with her.

"Heero, this means we can be together forever now!" said Relena excitedly.

"No, Relena, it doesn't. I'm not going to age, but you are. I'm never going to die. A relationship like that would never work, even if I did think of you that way," said Heero as gently as he could. "I can't be with someone that I know will get old and die while I still look the way I do now. I'm sorry Relena, but I think of you as a sister, not in a romantic way at all."

Even though Heero had worded it as carefully as possible, Relena's eyes still welled up with tears. "Does this mean that you don't want to be with me?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry, but you're right. I don't want to be with you. It would never work between us. I can't give you the kind of love and attention you want. I'd like to be your friend still, but that's all."

"I...I think I understand. It'll just take me awhile to get used to. I would like to be your friend, but I need to adjust to all this first."

"I'm glad you understand. When you're ready, give me a call, little sister." She gave him a soggy smile.

"Little sister, I like the sound of that. I'll definitely get in touch with you soon. Goodbye, Heero," she said, giving him a small hug that he returned before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Be safe little sister. I'll always be here when you need me." Heero suddenly grinned impishly. "Just think of me as your guardian angel." She laughed at that before turning to leave. When she was gone, soft footsteps approached him from behind before a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.

"I heard what you said to her. You did the right thing, Heero. She'll get used to it soon enough."

"Thank you, Zechs."

"If Relena's your little sister, does that make me your brother?" Zechs asked. Heero looked a bit startled.

"I guess it does," he replied finally. "You seem to be taking all this pretty calmly."

"What choice do I have? If you pilots can be so calm about it, and you're the ones it's happening to, then what right do I have to get upset?" Heero laughed.

"You have a point, big brother."

"Big brother?" Zechs raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if Relena's my little sister, that makes you my big brother, doesn't it?"

"You're right, little brother. It feels weird thinking of it that way though, considering just over a year ago we were trying to kill each other."

"True, but we haven't been enemies for awhile now, and the last war we fought side by side. It doesn't matter what side you were on then, it matters what side you're on now." That ended their conversation momentarily, and Heero surveyed the room. Dorothy and Relena were talking with Noin and Une, Duo and Hilde had just joined them, and Wufei was talking to Sally.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry," Heero said to Zechs. "Why don't we move the group discussion to a restaurant?"

"Sounds good to me," agreed Zechs. They managed to get everyone's attention for the announcement, and soon the group was on their way to a good restaurant in the area.

A.N. - That's all for now. I know I wasn't as mean to Relena as some people would like, but it fit better with the story. I personally don't like her, but it seems that she's not that bad, just immature. Since she grew up a bit in Endless Waltz, she reacted more maturely that she would've during the series. And for anyone who was waiting to see if they could actually fly, there's your answer. I promise there will be more flying in the future.


	6. Back to the Circus

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Sue me if you like, but you won't get anything because I have no money.

A.N. - Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, my train of thought derailed and it took a long time to get it back on track. I will now respond to reviewers at the end of the chapter instead of the beginning.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry," Heero said to Zechs. "Why don't we move the group discussion to a restaurant?"

"Sounds good to me," agreed Zechs. They managed to get everyone's attention for the announcement, and soon the group was on their way to a good restaurant in the area.

* * *

Chapter 6:

Trowa entered the grounds of the circus slowly, although he knew Catherine would be overjoyed to see him safe and home. At least until he told her his reason for being there. She would not be happy at all to learn that he was joining the Preventers, and even more upset when she heard what he was now. They may never have had tests to confirm it, but she considered herself to be his sister, and was very overprotective of him. Heero was right to send him on his own to tell her. If anyone else had been there, particularly Heero, she likely would attack them for putting Trowa in that situation. He laughed inwardly at the mental picture of Catherine attacking the 'Perfect Soldier' since Heero wouldn't really make an attempt to defend himself because he could easily hurt her accidentally. Trowa knew from personal experience just how strong Heero really was, as he'd tried to wake him from a nightmare once and earned a broken arm for his trouble. That's not to mention watching the Wing pilot bend thick steel bars with his bare hands.

As he wandered around back the circus tent where the animals were kept, he saw Catherine heading for her trailer. That turned into a headlong run in his direction when she spotted him.

"Trowa, you're safe! And you've come home. You never have to leave again," she said happily.

"Actually, Cathy, I'm back because there's something I need to tell you. Can we go somewhere more private?"

She looked confused, but agreed. "We can go to my trailer. Noone will hear us in there."

"Good, let's go."

Once they were inside the trailer, Catherine spun to look at Trowa, and inquisitive look on her face. "So what did you have to tell me that's so secret?"

"Well, first of all, I won't be staying at the circus. The other Gundam pilots and I are going to work at the Preventers, where our skills will do some good." Cathy made an aborted sound of protest at that. "Before I tell you the other part, you have to swear never to tell anyone else, alright? It's important."

"All right, I promise not to tell anyone."

"Good. None of us Gundam pilots are human anymore. We're angels now, chosen by the Powers that Be to become immortal and protect humanity. Even from itself."

"W-w-what? You're- angels now? Why? Why did it have to be you? I bet this is all that guy Heero's fault! The next time I see him, I'm going to tell him exactly what I think of all this," Catherine stated indignantly.

"Cathy, no. Don't. It's not Heero's fault, although he has known about this longer than the rest of us. He didn't want to become an angel either, he just wanted to be normal. And it wasn't easy for him to tell the rest of us about this. He never wanted to tell us, to give us the chance to be normal, but then his wings appeared. He honestly expected all of us to hate him for just telling us, he knows the price of immortality.

"As for why we were chosen, the Powers that Be knew that we would become Gundam pilots when they chose us, I guess they thought we would be best suited for the job. I can tell you don't fully believe yet. I'll show you my wings." With that, Trowa peeled off his shirt and made his wings appear. When she saw them, all that she'd just been told registered with Catherine at once and she fell into his arms, sobbing. Trowa gently eased her over to the couch, wrapping his arms and wings around her.

"So it's really true," she said in between sobs.

"It's really true," he agreed quietly. They sat like that for a long while, Trowa gently rubbing Catherine's back before her tears started to ease. She raised her head and really looked at his wings then.

"They're so beautiful," she said, almost to herself. "May I - touch them?" Trowa just nodded. Her hand reached shakily out to gently caress the soft feathers. "Thank you - for telling me about this. I know you could've just disappeared without a word. I appreciate that you bothered to come here and let me know. Noone will ever find out the secret of you pilots from me."

"Thank you, Cathy. I'll still visit from time to time, but there will come a point when all of us have to disappear. I'll watch over you forever though. I have to go now."

"Goodbye, Trowa. I'll hold you to your promise of visits." She gave him one final hug before he rose, shrugging his shirt back on after making his wings go away, and left. He never looked back.

A.N. - I know, I left things unfinished with Heero, Duo, and Wufei. Next chapter will be Quatre, and then I'll get back to them. I promise.

Windy River- Thanks for reviewing. Any other comments?

Hikaru - Thanks for the info. I have noticed that most Gundam Wing fics are yaoi, but I've never bothered to look at the rating before. There will be more 1×2 later on. I promise.

Lord Aries Greymon - I thank thee for thy praise. Truly, I have endeavoured to the utmost to produce a story of quality. I wast not being humble earlier, it has been truly said that one is one's own worst critic. Thou hast made one error however. I am not a mister, but a miss. Thank you, I look forward to another interesting review.


	7. What to do With Company

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.

A.N. - I didn't like the last chapter much, I'll try to make this one better. I can't believe they gave Quatre 29 sisters. What were they thinking? Now all us fanfiction authors have to try and give them all names and personalities when we want to include them in our stories!

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"Thank you, Cathy. I'll still visit from time to time, but there will come a point when all of us have to disappear. I'll watch over you forever though. I have to go now."  
  
"Goodbye, Trowa. I'll hold you to your promise of visits." She gave him one final hug before he rose, shrugging his shirt back on after making his wings go away, and left. He never looked back.

* * *

Chapter 7: 

Quatre looked around the room at his sisters that had gathered at his request and shifted nervously. He knew he had to talk to them about the changes he had gone through, but it was going to be difficult to tell all twenty-nine of them that he was an angel now. He couldn't even begin to imagine what their reactions would be.

"Thank you all for coming today. I have something very important to tell you, and I'm going to need your help. I have become an angel, and since I won't age, someone else is going to have to look after the company," said Quatre, as calmly as he could. The room immediately erupted into chaos. Some of his sisters rushed to hug him, and went on about how sorry they were for 'poor little Quatre'. Others demanded how he could have been stupid enough to allow himself to be changed. A few just sat there, frozen in shock. It's not everyday your little brother announces that he's not human anymore.

It was finally Iria who took charge, since out of all the sisters she had had the most contact with Quatre. "All right everyone, calm down. Quatre, why don't you explain what's happened to you, and tell us what we can do to help." He looked at her, trying to convey just how grateful he was for her levelheadedness at a time like that.

"I found out what I am now shortly after we Gundam pilots and a few others put down Mariemeia's coup attempt. Heero, one of the other pilots, had known for quite some time but he hadn't been allowed to tell us before then. Simply put, the Powers that Be chose the five of us to guard the Earth until it ceases to exist. That's why we're immortal. As for being angels, I think we needed the powers that came with the change. Plus now we have wings.

"Since I'm immortal, I won't age from now on. I'm going to need your help in handing over control of the company, since people will find it suspicious that I don't age. It'll be easier to disappear now rather than later when people begin to suspect that something's different about me. All of us are going to go work for the Preventers for awhile, then fake our death on a mission so noone will come looking for us.

"I'd like to hand the company over to one or more of you. It should stay in the family, and most of you have been working on it since before I was even born. It might be better to have more than one person handling it, since I know just how big it is. It's too much work for one person to handle alone."

"I'll take over for you, Quatre," volunteered one of his sisters, Ekaterina. "I like handling business, so it'll be easy for me. I've also been on the Board of Directors for a number of years."

"If she handles the business aspect, I can look after the practical side of things," added Taiya. "I've been working with the R & D team for a long time, and I know what projects we have on the go."

"Good. Thank you," said Quatre. "If anyone else would like to be involved in the company, talk to Ekaterina and Taiya. This could actually be a wonderful opportunity for Winner Enterprises to diversify. If you really wanted, each one of you could run your own department, and do what you enjoy within the structure of the family business."

"That sounds great, Quatre," commented Iria enthusiastically. "I've wanted to start up a medical research facility within the company for years, but Father never liked that idea."

"I can start a legal branch too," said Anne. "The first thing I'll do though is draw up the papers to transfer the company from you to Ekaterina and Taiya. With the team of Winner lawyers working on the document, noone will ever be able to claim that it wasn't done legally and seize control of the company."

"That's wonderful, Anne. Why don't you start that now?" suggested Iria. When she left to start work, Iria turned to Quatre. "Can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Sure," he agreed. They left their other sisters behind, talking excitedly about the different possibilities that diversifying the company would create.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" asked Quatre when he and Iria were alone.

"I was just wondering how you felt about all this. I know it must've been a shock to find out that you aren't human anymore."

"You're right, it was, but Heero did a good job of explaining it. It's going to be hard not aging; having to watch everyone around me getting older while I remain the same, but at least I'm not alone. I'll have the other Gundam pilots."

"You mean you'll have the one you like. What was his name again, Trowa?" Quatre turned bright red.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"To a woman it is. You told me about all the other pilots when we met that one time, but he was the only one you talked about for more than five minutes. It was 'Trowa did this', or 'Trowa did that' the whole time. Don't worry little brother. I don't have a problem with it. And the fact that you're not human anymore and are handing over control of the company relieves you of the responsibility of having an heir."

Quatre laughed. "I guess it does. Thank you for understanding, but I don't even know if he likes me in return. Sometimes I think...but I can't be sure."

"Well, you do have eternity to find out. Just don't wait too long, or both of you might wind up disappointed."

"I know. Shall we get back to the others? I know they'll have a ton of questions they still want to ask."

"Good idea." The two of them went back to where they had left the rest of their family where Quatre spent the rest of the day answering questions and showing off his wings.

He wound up staying at his estate on L4 for a week before all the wrinkles in the company transfer were ironed out, and got to know some of his sisters better. Trowa showed up halfway through the week, and waited patiently for Quatre to be done so they could go meet up with the others. Finally Quatre's business was done. They said goodbye to his sisters, and hopped on a shuttle to meet up with Heero, Duo and Wufei on Earth.

A.N. - I hope this chapter's better. I only had to invent three names! Yay!

Griffen - Thanks. I don't know why I put it under fantasy. It's just the type of story I would call it because I'm used to book classifications and they don't have a supernatural category for them.

Hikaru - Hmmm...?

Chibis Unleashed - Yeah, it's going to be hard for the pilots. You'll see them fly soon enough.

Kalaya [kay's twin sister] - Thank you. And yes, I will keep writing more.

Lord Aries Greymon - I thank thee kind sir. I am most undeserving of this great honour, but I accept it greatfully. And with the power that thou hast conferred upon me, I dub thee most loyal reader.

Windy River - Lol. This soon enough?


	8. Restaurants and Hotel Rooms

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.

A.N. - I'm sorry everyone for how long it took to get this chapter out. I've just had a lot going on. I had to go to my uncle's funeral, and I've been trying to work on my original novel more too. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait!

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"Good idea." The two of them went back to where they had left the rest of their family where Quatre spent the rest of the day answering questions and showing off his wings.

He wound up staying at his estate on L4 for a week before all the wrinkles in the company transfer were ironed out, and got to know some of his sisters better. Trowa showed up halfway through the week, and waited patiently for Quatre to be done so they could go meet up with the others. Finally Quatre's business was done. They said goodbye to his sisters, and hopped on a shuttle to meet up with Heero, Duo and Wufei on Earth.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8:

During the walk to the restaurant, Mariemeia caught up with the group, guaranteeing that she would also be one of those who knew about the Gundam pilots. The young former dictator looked so different in the wheelchair she had been confined to since taking the bullet meant for Relena. Now she just looked like an ordinary little girl, not someone who had almost succeeded in taking over the world. When they were seated in a private booth in the restaurant and she was told about what the Gundam pilots had become, she just smiled.

"It somehow seems appropriate, at least for Heero. After all, he certainly looked like an avenging angel in Zero when he took out the blast-shield above the complex we had taken over." Heero smiled gently in return.

"I just wish I'd had my wings back then. It certainly would've been less painful than falling out of the sky when Zero's wings gave out, or jumping down however far it was to get into the building."

"You know Heero, there was an elevator you could've used," pointed out Une.

"There was?" he asked, surprised. "I knew about it, but I thought it had been destroyed by Zero's buster rifle." Everyone laughed at the thought that Heero had jumped into the building without looking to see if the elevator still worked.

"That's so typically Heero," laughed Duo. "The guy who thinks he's Superman. You know 'faster than a speeding bullet, can jump tall buildings in a single bound."

"Nah," said Heero. "I'm much cooler than Superman could ever be. For one thing, I don't have to change in phone booths, and I don't wear tights. And don't mention the spandex, Duo. I stopped wearing those a year ago, and I only wore it in the first place because that's all Dr. J gave me to wear." He suddenly shuddered. "And I really don't want to think about WHY that's all J ever gave me." The rest of the table made horrified faces at their thoughts as to the reason the old man got Heero to wear spandex. Luckily the silence was broken by the arrival of their food, and they only talked about light inconsequential things while they ate.

"So Heero," asked Duo finally, "how did you know about Superman? You don't strike me as the type to get into comics, if Dr. J would even let you."

"It was because of one of the techs working on the Gundam. He was a real comic fan, and sometimes he'd sneak me whatever comic he happened to be reading at the time. I was really interested in them, mostly because they were the only thing that didn't relate to training. The tech used to tease me about that, saying that I was in training to become one of the superheros. He was the only guy who actually treated me like a person, rather than a tool or a robot. Most of the people on the project were just flat out scared of me. Then J found out about the comics and sent him to work on another base. He didn't want anyone teaching his 'weapon' about anything normal."

"Man, that must've been awful, Heero," commented Duo.

"I agree, Yuy. My upbringing was strict, but not as bad as that. I was still allowed to do what I wanted sometimes," said Wufei. "Yet you do not seem bitter about what was done to you as a child."

"Why bother? It's not something I can change. Besides, I wasn't really a child at that point. Even before I met up with Dr. J, I had been raised by an assassin named Odin for as long as I could remember. He wasn't as strict as J, but he was demanding in his own way. I could strip, clean, and reassemble a gun in under five minutes by the time I was four. Since Odin didn't really know how to handle a child, he treated me like a very short adult.

"When Dr. J took me to train, I had already met up with the angel, so I knew I wasn't going to be normal. I just used the training as a way to prepare for all that. If he was overly harsh with me, it was because he thought of the training as a necessity so that I could protect the colonies. Since it was for a higher purpose, he thought he'd have to sacrifice my humanity."

"And look at you now. You aren't human, but you've finally got a personality," teased Duo.

"I've always had a personality, Duo. You just didn't notice it."

"Is it my fault you're such a good actor? You pulled off being a cold-eyed psycho so well! And then you changed into a cold-hearted bastard. Anyone would've been fooled," retorted Duo. The others at the table were just laughing at Duo's descriptions of Heero's earlier self.

"He wasn't that bad, Duo," said Relena.

"Oh yeah? You're not exactly sane yourself. You defended the guy who threatened to kill you, and even stood on a cliff yelling for him to come and kill you!" he said.

"None of us are really sane," commented Wufei. "All of us have been extremely irrational at one point or another. At least Heero was just acting. He's probably the most sane out of all of us."

"If he's the most sane out of all of us," commented Zechs, "then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Hey," cried Heero, pretending to take offense, "as least I didn't try and blow up the world so people would be peaceful." The rest of the lunch degenerated into recollections of all the crazy things everyone had done, some of the most amusing about Une and her dual personalities. They parted late that afternoon, agreeing to meet a week later, before all the Gundam pilots officially joined the Preventers.

"So where to now, Heero?" asked Duo.

"First we'll go tell Howard about all this. He's in the city now, and I arranged to meet with him at our hotel later tonight. Then we'll go meet up with Quatre and Trowa to tell the Maguanac Corps." As it turned out, Howard had gotten impatient and was waiting for them in the lobby of their hotel when they arrived.

"Howie!" yelled Duo, running to give him a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey Kid, how's it goin'?" replied Howard, returning the hug before tugging his braid. "What's all this then. Why did I get a call from Heero saying that you all needed to tell me something?"

"There is something important we need to tell you Howard," replied Heero. "But it's private, so we'll say it once we get to our hotel room." He smiled. "It's good to see you again.

"Hey, Duo," Howard said in a loud stage whisper. "Did I just see Heero Yuy smile?"

They all had to smile at that. "Yes Howard, you did just see him smile. It's something you'll have to get used to though. He smiles a lot more now."

"This must be some secret you have to tell me." Duo just grinned and refused to say anything. Howard looked to the other two pilots for information, but they just did the same. Howard followed them to their room, pleading the whole way for even a hint about what they were going to tell him. It was not until they got to the room and locked the door behind them that anyone spoke.

"We're not human anymore, Howie," said Duo, sitting on one of the double beds.

"What do you mean you aren't human anymore?"

"I'll let Heero explain from here. He's better at it."

"We're angels now, Howard. The five pilots have been chosen by the Powers that Be to become angels and protect the Earth and the colonies until they no longer exist. Aren't we lucky?"

"You're angels," said Howard, clearly trying to come to terms with the news.

"Yes. We're immortal now too. That's why we're telling all our friends now, because we're going to have to disappear sooner or later before people notice we aren't aging. We trust that you'll keep our secret."

"Thank you for your trust," said Howard. "Noone will ever hear your secret from me."

"Thanks, Howie. I knew you'd understand," said Duo, giving the man who he thought of almost as a father another hug. The four of them sat and talked until far into the night, remembering the past and discussing the future. Eventually Howard left to return to where he was staying, and the three pilots went to bed, exhausted from the long day. The next day they would meet up with Quatre and Trowa, and tell the last group about their change.

A.N. - I hope everyone likes this chapter. I'll try and post another one soon to make up for the long delay.

Pikola - Thanks. I'll explain why Duo's wings are black in a later chapter.

Lord Aries Greymon - Allow me to clarify. When I said 'most loyal', I meant 'among the most loyal', but that doesn't sound as good in the old toungue. Sometimes one must sacrifice exactness for effect. And the reason I put Trowa and Quatre together is that Quatre seems to like Trowa a lot, and I can't see either of them with Wufei. Since I paired off Heero and Duo, I was left with putting Quatre and Trowa together. Wufei is the only Gundam pilot I can see being straight, since he had a wife who he loved previously, although he didn't realize it until she died.

Oracale - Thank you

Lilly - Sorry, I'm not good with giving out cyber-food. For some reason it just doesn't taste right when I make it. Yeah, Quatre having 29 sisters is intense. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Scotty-lass - You're not alone in wanting to know how they handle it when they have time to get used to the change. Heck, I don't even know (I didn't really plan how the story would go beyond the first 2 chapters.) Thanks for the review!

Hikaru - No problem. I just wasn't sure what the hmm... meant. There will be more 1×2, I promise. I just want to develop it gradually. This story can be very long after all.

Chibis Unleashed - I believe they'll be flying in the next chapter. No promises though. And with Quatre's sisters, I'm glad I only wound up writing a few instead of all of them. Lumping them into a group reaction is a wonderful thing to be able to do.


	9. Meeting with the Maguanac

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, and if you sue me all I have are books and art stuff.

A.N. - Here's another chapter for you! Hope it's fast enough.

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"Yes. We're immortal now too. That's why we're telling all our friends now, because we're going to have to disappear sooner or later before people notice we aren't aging. We trust that you'll keep our secret."

"Thank you for your trust," said Howard. "Noone will ever hear your secret from me."

"Thanks, Howie. I knew you'd understand," said Duo, giving the man who he thought of almost as a father another hug. The four of them sat and talked until far into the night, remembering the past and discussing the future. Eventually Howard left to return to where he was staying, and the three pilots went to bed, exhausted from the long day. The next day they would meet up with Quatre and Trowa, and tell the last group about their change.

* * *

Chapter 9: 

"Hey guys," greeted Quatre. "How did it go for you?"

"Not bad. Everyone took the news really well," replied Duo. "How about you Q? How'd it go telling your sisters? And you Tro, how'd Catherine take it?"

"Most of my sisters understood. They're all going to get involved in the running of the company now, but I left two of them in charge of it all. Iria says 'hi' to all of you by the way."

"Catherine didn't take the news that well at first. You were right not to go, Heero. She blamed all of it on you and probably would've liked to use you as a target for her knife-throwing act at first. But she'll get used to it. She was already resigned to the change by the end of my visit, and I didn't stay long."

"That's good," put in Duo. "It might've been funny to watch Catherine try and beat up on Heero though."

"So now you think it's funny to watch someone throw knives at me?" asked Heero.

"I think you're reaction to having someone throw knives at you would be funny."

"But she's Trowa's sister, more or less. I can't deal with her the same way I would if a soldier was throwing knives at me!" pointed out Heero.

"Oh. Good point," said a more subdued Duo. "Which ones of your sisters are going to take over the company, Quat?"

"I don't really know them all that well, but Ekaterina and Taiya are going to take over for me. Anne took care of the legal aspect of the change in control." Duo and Quatre continued to talk about Quatre's sisters and the company while they flew to meet with the Maguanac. Heero piloted the plane while Trowa sat in the copilots seat. Since all the guys were such good pilots, they didn't really trust the flight to anyone else. Technically, they could've flown there using their wings, but none of them were experienced yet, and too many people could see.

When they left the plane, the entire Maguanac Corps was there to greet them. They first surrounded Quatre, hugging him and congratulating him on keeping the Earth safe once again, then moved to include the rest of the pilots in the celebration. Finally Rashid cut through the crowd surrounding them to ask them why they'd come.

"We've got something to tell you all, but we should wait until we're in a more private place," said Quatre.

"What is it Master Quatre?" chorused the Maguanac.

He laughed. "I can't tell you yet."

"Not even a hint, Master Quatre?" put in Abdul.

"No, sorry."

"Well then, we'll have to take you back to the base so you can tell us," suggested Rashid. Once in the Maguanac's underground base, Heero was again the one to explain. The Maguanac didn't even question it, they just accepted everything at face value. They even promised their help for as long as they were alive.

"You and the other pilots have helped us so often, Master Quatre. The least we can do is help you in return," said Rashid.

"It's we who owe you," Quatre said. "You've been there fighting all our battles with us."

"You'll be protecting the Earth for a long time to come, the least we can do is help you out. Now, to celebrate!" said Rashid.

"But what exactly are we celebrating?" asked Duo confusedly.

"The defeat of Mariemeia of course."

"But that happened almost a month ago!"

"That doesn't mean we can't celebrate it."

The party lasted well into the night, but Heero left early and Duo followed him. They wound up sitting silently outside on the dunes and looking up at the desert sky.

"Do you want me to teach you how to fly?" Heero suddenly asked.

After a few moments of startlement at the question, Duo agreed. "Sure, Heero. What do I have to do?"

"Well, first of all your wings have to be out." Duo quickly removed his shirt and made his wings appear. Beside him, Heero did the same. "Now close your eyes and focus on your wings. Imagine them moving." It took a moment, but Duo got his wings to sweep the air. "Remember that feeling, it's what you'll have to capture every time you fly. Keep moving your wings. When you feel ready, push off hard from the ground and flap hard." Heero demonstrated, jumping high off the ground before a powerful flap of his wings sent him further skyward. He circled high above Duo's head for a few moments before landing gently.

"Like this?" asked Duo, copying what Heero had done.

"Exactly. Stay up, we can fly around for awhile." Heero joined Duo in the sky and for the next few hours they flew through the desert sky. Noone was around to see them, so they went higher and higher. As they both got more accustomed to flight, they began to try increasingly intricate manoeuvres: passing over and under each other, doing barrel rolls and loops. On one pass, Duo called out to Heero.

"This is amazing," he laughed breathlessly. "I've never felt more free. This is like piloting Deathscythe, only out here there's nothing to tie me down. I can fly on my own wings."

"It almost makes up for the immortality, doesn't it? Maybe that's why we have wings, as compensation for everything we have to give up."

"Maybe, but you can't be an angel without wings." They continued flying for another hour, then headed back to the base to get some rest. Flying was tiring with muscles unaccustomed to the strain.

A.N. - There, they flew. By the way, I don't have a beta reader for this, so if anyone would like to volunteer.... It's ok though, I don't really seem to need one. I'll try to write longer chapters in future. These first ones seem to break up better this way, but I want to start including more in each chapter.

Scotty-lass - Is this soon enough for you? I believe I said in a previous chapter who will be partnered with who in the Preventers. (Check chapter 5) And I don't know yet what will happen when they're with the Preventers. I guess you'll have to wait and see. By the way, are you sure you don't need Ritalin? Bouncing on chairs too much can be hazardous to your health.

Griffen - Lol. Longer than Duo's braid, that's a good one. I don't know how long the story will wind up being, but considering it's taken this many chapters to get here, I'd say probably at least 60 chapters total. (What was I thinking when I wrote this idea? This was only the second fic I'd posted when I started writing it.)


	10. Food Fights, Flight, and Instruments

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. The plot is all mine though. Mine, mine, mine. maniacal laughter

A.N. - This chapter's for **Hikaru** and **Chibis Unleashed**.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"This is amazing," he laughed breathlessly. "I've never felt more free. This is like piloting Deathscythe, only out here there's nothing to tie me down. I can fly on my own wings."

"It almost makes up for the immortality, doesn't it? Maybe that's why we have wings, as compensation for everything we have to give up."

"Maybe, but you can't be an angel without wings." They continued flying for another hour, then headed back to the base to get some rest. Flying was tiring with muscles unaccustomed to the strain.

* * *

Chapter 10:

"Ow-ow-ow," Duo woke up groaning the next morning. "Heero, why didn't you warn me that my muscles would be this sore today?"

"What did you expect? Muscles are always sore when you use them for a long time, especially when they aren't used often," Heero replied from his side of the bed. The two boys had been sharing since Duo confessed to his sleeping difficulties.

"I guess you're right, but you still should have warned me. Owwww!"

"Would it have stopped you?"

"No, I guess not."

"Then why bother?" Heero asked, raising an eyebrow. He then shifted in the bed, sitting up and moving closer to Duo. "Roll over on your stomach and put out your wings." Duo obeyed and Heero began gently massaging the muscles around the base of Duo's wings, pressing harder on the really stubborn knots. Duo stiffened in shock, but soon relaxed.

_"Is Heero really giving me a massage? I must be dreaming. It feels so good. His fingers are calloused, but so gentle. It's hard to believe that I've seen him use his hands to bend steel. Heero's changed so much since he woke after crashing in Zero and told us about what we are. It's hard to believe this Heero and the cold, suicidal bastard who fought in the wars are the same person."_ Duo was hard pressed to keep from moaning in pleasure as the intense pain in his back gradually went away with the gentle pressure from Heero's fingers. As much as he'd changed, Duo didn't think he'd be ready to handle THAT just yet. It was getting harder and harder for the braided boy to hide his growing attraction for the Japanese pilot. Eventually he'd have to tell Heero how he felt about him.

_"There's no hurry though,"_ he thought. _"I have eternity to tell him now, especially since he's told Relena that he doesn't like her romantically."_

Unbeknownst to Duo, Heero was having similar thoughts._ "I really like Duo, but I'm not sure how he feels about me. Hell, I don't even know if he likes guys that way. This is all so confusing. It was so much easier when I shut out my emotions in order to push the others away. Not that I'm in a hurry to do that again. But I blocked how I felt for so long that I don't know how to deal with emotion anymore. Oh well, I have a long time to figure everything out. I have forever after all."_ He continued massaging Duo's back absently, not thinking about anything in particular and not paying attention to anything. So he was surprised when Duo suddenly grabbed his wrists to stop him. He almost threw Duo across the room by reflex, but quickly stopped himself. He grinned wryly at Duo, knowing he would have noticed the tense of muscles that came with the reaction.

"Sorry," apologized Duo. "I should know better than to surprise you. One of these days I'm going to wind up with something broken and it'll be all my own fault. But I was thinking. I feel better now, but your muscles have to be sore too. You haven't flown that much more than me. I'll return the favour and fix your soreness too."

Heero was surprised by the offer. Noone had ever asked to do something like that for him before. His back muscles did ache, but he had grown so used to ignoring pain that he'd hardly noticed. "Thank you, Duo." He and Duo traded places on the bed, staying companionably silent until Quatre knocked on the door.

"There's a brunch laid out, if you guys are hungry," he told them through the door.

"Thanks Q," replied Duo. "We'll be down in a moment." The two boys quickly dressed and followed Quatre to the room with brunch. It was more of a feast than a meal, so much food was laid out. All the Maguanac and pilots ate together, the pilots bombarded with questions about the recent fight and their transformation; as well as good natured jokes. At one point Duo laughed so hard that he sprayed his orange juice all over Heero and Trowa, seated across from him. Heero resurrected his death glare which was marred slightly by the juice dripping off his nose. Trowa drew out a knife much like the ones Catherine used in her act and pinned Duo's braid to the chair in retaliation. Quatre tried to contain his giggles at the sight of the juice covered pair, but failed miserably. Duo just laughed even harder. It was at this point that Heero showed how much unlike his old self he truly was. He grinned evilly and leaned over to whisper something in Trowa's ear, which caused Trowa to grin evilly as well. They both picked up bowls of applesauce from the table in front of them, and threw them at Quatre and Duo. Their aim was dead centre and the bowls landed upside down on top of each pilot's head, applesauce cascading down their face and hair. They all froze for a moment before Duo yelled.

"All right Yuy, this means war!" An all and out food fight started. At first it was just the four who had been involved originally, then Wufei got dragged in. Then the rest of their table. Then the entire Maguanac Corps. It wound down when there was very little left to throw. The occupants of the room were all laughing so hard they could barely breathe and were completely covered in food. They surveyed the wrecked room before unanimously turning to go find cleaning supplies. With that many people working, it didn't take as long as would be expected to clean up the mess, and the room was spotless again after two hours. Then everyone left to go clean themselves up, but not before the pilots agreed to meet again in an hour outside.

An hour later, all freshly showered and wearing new clothes, the pilots met just outside the base.

"Why did you ask us here, Heero?" asked Wufei.

"I was wondering if you guys would like to learn how to fly." When everyone eagerly agreed, he and Duo began demonstrating. Before long, all the pilots were in the air. They did many of the things Duo and Heero had figured out the night before, and tried more. Some of the figures they did in the air looked much like those done by military stunt planes before mobile suits became the main weapons of war. But the five of them could fly much closer and more precisely than any stunt pilot could ever dream of. Eventually, tired and drenched with sweat, they all headed off to their second shower of the day, then to supper. There were no food fights at this meal however.

After supper, the pilots went to a quiet room to sit and talk. Quatre pulled out his violin, and Trowa found a flute. After a beautiful duet, the other pilots explored the instrument cabinet. Heero pulled out a cello, Duo found a guitar, and Wufei sat at the seat of the grand piano that dominated the room.

"I didn't know any of you played instruments," commented Quatre.

"One of the Sweepers taught me to play the guitar," replied Duo.

"I learned the piano as part of my schooling," Wufei informed them.

"Odin taught me how to read music, and how to play a few instruments as a cover. Since then I've experimented with different ones and can play almost any instrument," said Heero, as if stating a simple fact that was not particularly impressive.

"Wow," Duo finally said.

Heero shrugged. "Once you have the basics of one kind of instrument down, it's relatively easy to learn how to play the others of the same type."

"Why did you choose the cello then?" asked Quatre, curious.

"I like the way it sounds, and it matches well with the instruments the rest of you play."

The pilots spent the rest of the night sitting and playing, Heero demonstrating some of the other instruments he knew how to play. They also learned that Duo and Heero could sing very well, so voices joined some of the songs they played. After a calm evening spent getting to know each other better through music, they all went to bed.

A.N. - I know I said I'd start writing longer chapters, but this seemed the best place to end it. Next chapter (maybe)

**Griffen **- I know, I was insane to make it that long moans with head in hands What was I thinking?!!!

**Chibis Unleashed** - Yes, they flew. You need an excuse to keep reading my story? I'm hurt. And I took away your excuse with this chapter, they all flew. I'll describe their flying better in a future chapter.

**Scotty-lass** - No problem with the partnering stuff. I don't mind answering questions. It is amusing to see what you write without Ritalin. Worse than Duo though? shudders Thank you for boosting my ego, I appreciate all the reviews.

**Misticheero** - You might want to think about capitalizing the 'h' in your name. When I first read it, I thought you were named Misti Cheerio. As in the cereal. And your uninspired review is still longer than some I get. I love long reviews. Lol at your whole review generally. Keep on reading.

**Clarobell** - Thank you. Yup, they can all fly now. The friends won't start aging for awhile yet, but relationships are beginning to develop.


	11. The Preventers

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Sue me if you want, but all you'll get is books and lint.

A.N. - Sorry everyone, I know it's been awhile since I last updated, but I haven't been sleeping well lately, and trust me, you don't want to read anything I write while sleep deprived. Anyways, since a lot of people have been asking about some of the OOCness in this story, I'd better explain why I had them act that way.

The tv show, where you learn the most about them, ends a year before Endless Waltz. Since my story begins just after Endless Waltz, I figured that the pilots had grown and changed in the year after the Eve Wars ended. With the successful defeat of Mariemeia's army, the pilots finally sorted out where they belonged, especially with Wufei and Trowa. Wufei found a place to belong with the other pilots in the Preventers, and a lifelong goal with their transformation into angels. Trowa gained a name when he decided to continue using Trowa Barton (even though I've ignored the destruction of the Gundams). He also has a kind of family, with Catherine and the other pilots. Since they no longer have reason to doubt their future or purpose, Wufei and Trowa have begun to relax around the people they trust. (Long note, I know, but it needed to be explained)

* * *

Last Chapter:

Heero shrugged. "Once you have the basics of one kind of instrument down, it's relatively easy to learn how to play the others of the same type."

"Why did you choose the cello then?" asked Quatre, curious.

"I like the way it sounds, and it matches well with the instruments the rest of you play."

The pilots spent the rest of the night sitting and playing, Heero demonstrating some of the other instruments he knew how to play. They also learned that Duo and Heero could sing very well, so voices joined some of the songs they played. After a calm evening spent getting to know each other better through music, they all went to bed.

* * *

Chapter 11:

After a week relaxing and truly coming to terms with their transformation, the pilots headed back to the Preventers' headquarters in Beijing. They met up with Une, Noin, Zechs and Sally in a small café near the building.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Sally.

"Lead the way," Duo replied while the rest of the pilots nodded decisively. They followed the older group into the middle of a whirlwind. Many people had decided to join the Preventers after Mariemeia's failed coup, and the established staff had developed a routine for newcomers. Papers were thrust at them to sign and as quickly taken away again. People asked for their clothing sizes and shoved new uniforms in their arms. They were told to report for physical and psych evaluations at certain times which were shouted so quickly it was impossible to catch. The pilots were constantly twitching in an instinctive, aborted attempt to defend themselves from the lunatics they were surrounded by. Finally the others succeeded in dragging them into an empty conference door and locking the door against the frenzy outside.

"You've just seen the organisation of the Preventers at work," said Une wryly. "Don't worry about all the tests you've just been told to show up for, we're waiving them for all of you. We know you're more than physically able to do the job, and as sane as you can be, for what the five of you have gone through."

Wufei regained some of his customary grumpiness at the poking and prodding he had just received. "Hmpf. It's only right that you acknowledge our skills, woman."

"You're right Wufei, it is only right that we acknowledge your skills. But if you keep calling me woman, I might just make you take every single test we have. Do I make myself clear?" Une asked in her wartime voice.

Duo clapped a hand over Wufei's mouth before he could answer. "Perfectly clear, Commander."

"Good." That resolved, Duo removed his hand and received a blast from Wufei.

"What do you think you're doing, Maxwell? I can answer for myself you know."

"I know. I just didn't want Sally to get stuck doing drudge work because you insulted the Commander. She is your partner after all."

"Thank you, Duo," said Sally. "That's very considerate of you." Wufei was left gaping, unable to come up with a good response. It was Heero who got them all back to business, as usual.

"Won't all the other junior agents be upset about our skipping the tests?" he asked.

"Possibly, but you won't be working with them much anyways. You're all too valuable to use on regular missions, which is mostly what the agents ranked Corporal and under get. You all start with the rank of Captain, same as Sally, Noin and Zechs. The five of you, plus Sally, will nominally be a unit. One of you will be in command, when needed, but I'll let you decide who. I need to know by the end of the week."

"We don't need a week to decide," Quatre told her.

"Really? Who do you want as your commander then?"

"Heero," the four answered in unison, Sally adding her agreement.

"I thought you might choose him," commented Une. "Right then, Heero, you're going to be a Captain General. I'm sure you can handle the post. I don't have any missions for any of you right yet, so just use the time to get used to the building and your offices. I'll have your Level One security clearance cards for you by this afternoon, but for now you're going to have to stick to the general access areas."

"Where's the cafeteria?" was Duo's first question. Noin, Sally, and Zechs agreed to play tour guide. As they all turned to leave, Une called Heero back.

"Are you all right with being in charge?" she asked him.

"I'll be fine. Once we all came together in the Eve Wars, it became more or less my role to lead. They all just automatically looked to me for guidance. When we came back together to fight Mariemeia, they again relied upon me for leadership, even Wufei who was fighting for the other side. They've also gotten me to do most of the planning for the future now that we're angels. All that my being Captain General is, is putting a name to what I've been doing all along."

"I'm glad," Une told him. "I didn't want to be responsible for placing yet another burden on your shoulders."

"It is a burden," Heero acknowledged, "but I'll manage. None of them need much guidance anyways."

"Good. I'll add Noin and Zechs to your unit then. They won't be here much longer anyways. They're planning to go to Mars for the terra-forming project soon."

"Zechs won't have a problem taking orders from me?"

"Good question, but I don't think it'll be a problem. Unless you all have a mission together, all you'll be doing is checking over the mission plans to make sure everything is planned properly."

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about? If not, I should probably find the others before they get too far."

"No, that was it. Go ahead." As Heero exited the room, a shadow detached itself from the wall to greet him.

"Hey buddy, I thought I'd wait for you so you didn't get lost. Sally told me where they'd be and how to get there."

"Thanks, Duo. Where are they going to be?"

"In the gym. Wufei said he wanted to train," Duo replied, rolling his eyes at the Chinese pilot's obsession with fighting. "Hey, are you ok with us choosing you to lead?"

"Une asked me the same thing. It's fine, I've been doing it all along anyways."

Duo looked startled at that. "You're right, I never thought about that. I guess we did always ask you what to do. It's probably because you always had an answer for us, even when we had no idea why we were even fighting anymore." The two walked in silence the rest of the way to the gym, passing agents who gave them curious glances.

When they got to the gym, Wufei was sparring with Trowa, and losing. He could never even hit the Heavyarms pilot. Every time he got close enough to land a hit, Trowa would simply flip away and dart back in to score on Wufei. It was like seeing a cat playing with a mouse. Finally Trowa got tired of it and swept Wufei's feet out from under him, pinning him to the mat. Wufei was quite obviously fuming at the defeat, and challenged Duo as soon as he regained his feet. Duo agreed, and the two of them began. The fight was a contrast in styles: Wufei's trained karate style to Duo's raw street fighting. They were evenly matched however, Duo's experience in dirty fights balancing Wufei's strict training. As they watched the match, Zechs walked over to Heero.

"Congratulations on getting command," he said. Heero shrugged.

"It's not really that big of a deal. They already look to me for leadership. By the way, Une added you and Noin to my unit. She seems to want to keep our groups from the war together."

"Good, I'm glad you're commanding." Heero's face visibly betrayed his surprise, so Zechs continued. "You're an excellent, honourable fighter. I know you have no grudge against me from the war, otherwise you would have killed me that day on Libra. I also know that you would never ask someone under your command to do something you wouldn't do yourself, and you go to great lengths to protect those under your care. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have commanding me." Heero bowed his head, humbled.

"Thank you, Zechs. That means more to me than you can ever know." Now it was Zechs' turn to be surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"For most of my life, I was considered a weapon, not a person. I was just a tool to be used to accomplish a goal. You're someone I respect, and your opinion means a lot to me. You see me as a person, not a tool, and I'm glad of it."

While they had been talking, the fight between Wufei and Duo had been winding down. They were too evenly matched, and so ended up calling it a draw.

"Why don't you spar with someone, Heero," asked Zechs. "I'm not volunteering though."

"Yeah, Heero," agreed Duo, "we've never seen you actually fight hand to hand. You killed people too quickly."

"All right. Who wants to spar?"

"Not me," said Quatre. "I'm not a hand to hand fighter."

"I'm pooped," said Duo.

"Not you, Wufei," put in Heero. "You've fought enough matches today."

"I'll spar with you, Heero," said Trowa.

Both walked out onto the mat, faced each other, bowed, and sprang into action. Trowa leaped quickly at Heero, hoping to catch him by surprise, but Heero ducked under and straightened as Trowa passed over him, throwing him into the air. The circus performer landed neatly but with a bit more effort than usual. Heero spun quickly, aiming a roundhouse kick at the other pilot. Trowa blocked it and returned a kick of his own, blocked by Heero. The two exchanged blows for awhile, none connecting. Finally Trowa resumed the tactics that had worked so well on Wufei. Instead of wasting his strength on attacking uselessly, Heero concentrated on blocking Trowa's attacks, occasionally returning a blow after blocking. The fight continued in this manner for awhile, but eventually Heero made his move. Instead of waiting to block the attack, he moved into it, grabbing Trowa and using his steel-strong arms to pin him.

"Do you give up?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Trowa. "I can't break your grip."

"Good," said Heero. Releasing Trowa, he commented, "that's the first fight since I started training where I haven't had to kill or seriously injure someone."

"That was a good strategy of yours," Trowa told him. "You lured me into thinking that you couldn't do anything more than block and attack occasionally. If you'd tried that grab any earlier, I might have evaded it."

"I learned how to be patient very young. I can wait as long as I need to to win." Turning, he said to Wufei, "that's your problem. You get impatient or frustrated and rush in. That's when you lose. Did you learn meditation techniques with your training?"

"Yes," Wufei replied sullenly.

"Centre yourself before a fight. If you are calm, you can see all sorts of possibilities that you miss otherwise. I'm not saying this to criticize you, but you'll find reaching your objectives easier if you're patient and look for an opportunity instead of trying to force your way through everything."

"That's good advice," conceded Wufei. "I will try in future to restrain my temper. I am very aware that it has lost me fights in the past."

"Quatre, you just said that you're not a hand to hand fighter. You'll have to learn. It was alright during the Eve Wars because we hardly ever had missions that didn't involve our Gundams, but now most of our missions will probably involve hand to hand combat. I suggest that all of us work with Quatre to teach him, and with each other. It can't hurt to know each other's style, not when we're all working together."

"He's sounding like a commander already," commented Sally. Heero glared at her mildly.

"I've been in military training since I could walk, why wouldn't I?" The dispute continued, degenerating into childish name calling. Above it all could be heard Wufei loudly saying his favourite word.

"INJUSTICE!"

A.N. - Hooray! I wrote a longer chapter! I'm so proud of me! As for Heero being a Captain General, I'm the authoress, I can invent military ranks if I feel like it.

**Clarobell** - I know, the back-rub scene is drowning in sap. Oh well, I think people liked it. Food fights are always fun. No prob about writing a music scene that took care of that niggling little voice in the back of your mind. They will be more music later. Maybe. I don't know when one of the pilots will ask about the wing colours, they haven't mentioned that they're curious yet.

**Griffen** - Lol. I guess insanity would have to be a good thing. Sane people are boring. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for wishing me a happy holiday, but I'm Canadian, so I celebrate Canada Day on July 1st.

**The Chaotic Ones** - I don't know if I'm going to pair Wufei with anyone. It's up in the air right now, but he strikes me as the Lonely Dragon type.

** Chaos** - I've never seen YYH or Weiß, so I can't write about characters from them. The demon suggestion is intriguing though.

** Angel** - Lol. I'm sure you wouldn't mind being paired with him.

** Jef** - Wufei's so popular! He should feel so special. It's good that you didn't ask me to answer what I have planned in a review, cause I don't know yet. I'm making this all up as I go.

** Aries** - Yes, Heero's way OOC. He's more fun that way. I can give him words to say instead of grunts and glares! Thank you for the plushy and the pixy stix. I enjoyed them muchly.

**Windy River** - ;-)

**Chibis Unleashed** - I understand completely. Just don't pester the author too much. She also has a novel she's writing and might try to get published, if she ever finishes it. I love music personally, I don't think I could manage without it, so it seemed appropriate to have music involved. Especially since we already knew that Trowa and Quatre played.

**Scotty-lass** - A lot of people seem to have really liked the food fight. Heero started the food fight cause he's opened up a lot, and since he couldn't shoot Duo, he threw food instead. Trowa helped because he's loosened up. If you read carefully though, it was actually Duo who started the food fight. Heero and Trowa would have called it even with the applesauce in exchange for the orange juice. It was Duo who declared war. Thank you for calling my writing brilliant. It's all thanks to my insanity that I can write stuff like this, so I don't mind craziness. waves back

**Katreda** - I'm glad you like my story. And the OOCness. Which is explained in the authors note at the beginning. Yeah. Keep reading and reviewing! :-)


	12. The Sight

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters, and I'm not making money off this story. I wish I was, I have no money, but then I'd lose it all again when the Japanese guys who own Gundam Wing sued me. Life sucks that way sometimes.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Quatre, you just said that you're not a hand to hand fighter. You'll have to learn. It was alright during the Eve Wars because we hardly ever had missions that didn't involve our Gundams, but now most of our missions will probably involve hand to hand combat. I suggest that all of us work with Quatre to teach him, and with each other. It can't hurt to know each other's style, not when we're all working together."

"He's sounding like a commander already," commented Sally. Heero glared at her mildly.

"I've been in military training since I could walk, why wouldn't I?" The dispute continued, degenerating into childish name calling. Above it all could be heard Wufei loudly saying his favourite word.

"INJUSTICE!"

* * *

Chapter 12:

A month after joining the Preventers, the pilots were still hanging around the offices: filling out paperwork, upgrading the security, and working on learning each other's fighting styles. Quatre proved to be a quick learner, and had already mastered the basic techniques of each style. Duo and Trowa's styles of fighting were proving the most difficult to learn, Duo's because it wasn't really a style, and Trowa's because of all the acrobatics. Heero and Duo were the only ones who could keep up with him when he started doing flips, surprising everyone. Duo had always been graceful, but noone thought that he could do things like that. And Heero, he seemed too solid to flip through the air. The other pilots weren't as surprised as they should have been though. After all, they thought Heero could do anything.

"That's really impressive, guys," Quatre said as Heero and Duo copied Trowa's triple flip. "You've learned that really quickly. I never would have guessed that the two of you would be that good at acrobatics."

"It's not that hard, Quat," said Duo. "You just have to have good balance and trust yourself to land on your feet."

"You've learned quickly yourself, Quatre. Once I suggested that you learn hand to hand combat, you've gone about it enthusiastically," pointed out Heero.

"Thanks, Heero. Coming from you, that means a lot." Just then, Une interrupted, striding quickly into the small training room the pilots had taken over.

"I have a mission for one of your teams, Heero. Here's the mission briefing, it's up to you to decide who you want to send on it."

"Alright Commander." Turning, he said to the others, "sorry guys, but you'll have to keep training without me. I should go read this over so I can figure out who to send."

"No problem, Heero. I'll keep working on that combination you showed me. It seems like it would be pretty powerful, once I get the hang of it," said Duo.

When Heero left the gym, he headed to his office to read over the mission briefly. It was a fairly basic mission. A simple infiltration. A group of Mariemeia loyalists who hadn't surrendered with the rest had retreated to an abandoned base and were trying to assemble a military group. All that needed to be done was sneak into the base somehow and retrieve information that proved they were going to rebel. As soon as that was obtained, a small group of Preventers could go to the site and arrest all those involved.

_"Another change from the wars. Now we need proof before we can attack someone, and we don't simply blow up the base and kill them all,"_ Heero thought to himself. _"Duo is the best at stealth, but this is a really easy mission. Maybe I should send Quatre and Trowa. It would be good practice for Quatre to use hand to hand combat in the field. I'll have to explain to Duo later why we aren't taking this mission."_ That settled, he headed back to where he had left the others.

"Hey Heero, decide who you're going to send?" Duo asked as soon as he spotted Heero.

"Yeah, Quatre and Trowa are going to go. Here's the mission briefing." He handed it to Trowa. "Make your own plans, just bring them to me before you go so I know what your time schedule is." Trowa agreed silently, nodding his head. Quatre looked slightly nervous, but that was to be expected from someone who'd never really had this kind of mission before, even if he was a Gundam pilot. Duo had a slightly puzzled look on his face, turning to Heero as if about to ask why they weren't taking the mission. Heero shook his head slightly, a sign not to ask then and Duo subsided, query unvoiced.

_"It's amazing what kind of communication has developed between us in the time we've worked together,"_ Heero thought. _"I don't even have to speak for him to understand me, which is a good thing considering how little I spoke before."_ Unbeknownst to him, Duo's thoughts echoed his own.

_"It feels like I've known Heero for a lifetime, we work together so well. It's like he knows what I'm thinking. Wait, maybe he does! He did mention that he has some telepathic powers. No, that can't be it, he said that he tried not to use them, and I would've gotten decked long since with some of the thoughts I've had about him." _A slight blush coloured his cheeks as he remembered some of the - inappropriate - thoughts he'd had about Heero since he'd met the Japanese pilot. _"It doesn't help that he's gorgeous either. I've never seen anyone else who looks like him."_ Duo attempted to put a stop to his thoughts before they strayed too far into the forbidden zone. _"Get a grip on yourself Maxwell! He's just a friend, nothing more. And now he's starting to look at you funny because you've spent the last few minutes staring blankly off into space with an odd look on your face."_ And indeed, as soon as Trowa and Quatre left the room to start preparing for their mission, Heero walked over to Duo, a concerned look on his face.

_"Oh shit! He must've heard what I was thinking."_

"Are you alright, Duo? You're flushed and you've been staring at my hair the whole time I was talking to Trowa. Are you getting sick?" Heero asked, sounding concerned.

"What?" Duo snapped out of his panicked thoughts. "Sure, I'm fine. I'm not sick at all." He felt his face flush further at the real reason he was blushing and staring off into space. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, he asked, "why'd you give Quatre and Trowa the mission. It looked like an infiltration, and you know those are my specialty."

"Only the stealth kind of infiltration. Trowa's better at actually joining the organization. But I gave it to them because it should be an easy mission and I want to see how Quatre does using his new skills in the field."

"Oh, I'd never thought of that. Good idea. Seems like we made a good choice, electing you commander."

"Thank you. But I'm sure I'll regret at some point having this position where I am responsible for all of you."

"At least you don't have to worry about getting us killed," Duo pointed out cheerily.

"There are worse things in this world than death."

"Geez, you're depressing today. Who pissed in your Cheerios?"

Despite himself, Heero had to grin slightly. He had no idea where this dark mood had come from, but as usual Duo was helping to lighten it. "If anyone pissed in my Cheerios," he shot back. "It was probably you. None of the other pilots would do something like that." "Especially not to me," was the unspoken thought. The other pilots were too respectful of him, sometimes he would swear that they were almost in awe of him. Hopefully that would change when they got to know the real him better, living in a house with him.

"Aw, damn. You found me out," joked Duo. "You're right, none of the other pilots would try that with you. I wouldn't put it past Zechs though..."

"And how exactly would Zechs gain access to my breakfast cereal? He doesn't live with me, unlike the four of you."

"Ummm, he snuck in through the window?"

"And which of us would leave a window unlocked?"

"None of us."

"Exactly. Therefore, Zechs did not piss in my Cheerios, and it must have been you. Therefor you have noone to blame but yourself for my current depressing mood. If you don't like it, don't pee in my food from now on." Heero enjoyed bantering like this, he'd never had a chance to joke around with someone his own age before now. He and Duo headed back to their office, joking back and forth all the way. They worked fitfully on different projects until Trowa knocked on the door, later that evening.

"Are you done the mission plan already?" asked Heero.

"No, but we were going to call it a night. It's already six o'clock, we should head home." Heero and Duo agreed, and soon joined the other three in the hallway, locking their office behind them. The five had decided to share a house when they started at the Preventers, and they also shared a car. Since they all worked at the same time, in the same place, it was easier and cheaper that way. If they needed to go somewhere on their own, they could either use the car if it was free, or ride their motorcycle. All five had bought themselves a motorcycle for fun. It was a way to get a similar rush to piloting a Gundam without the automatic fear and suspicion from people that the giant mechs inspired.

The ride back to the house was normal. Trowa and Quatre discussed the mission quietly, and Duo and Wufei argued about what to make for dinner. Heero just sat back and enjoyed the routine. It had been a very long time since he'd had a place to belong like he had with the other pilots. From the sounds of the argument, Wufei wanted to have wonton soup and Duo wanted pizza. He was distracted from their reasoning for each food by Quatre asking his opinion on some of the mission specs.

Dinner that night was homemade pizza, Duo had obviously won the argument and Wufei was sulking, arms crossed over his chest. The conversation was for the most part about the upcoming mission for Trowa and Quatre, and about when the rest of them would have their first for the Preventers. All were glad that missions appeared to be few and far between. It meant that the fragile peace all of them had fought so hard to create was beginning to solidify.

"It's nice to just be able to relax a bit and not have to wonder about when the next rebellion will happen and we'll have to go off and fight again. The Preventers have such good warning systems now that all possible dangers get flagged and we eliminate them before they have a chance to involve innocents," said Quatre.

"You're right, Quat. All the same, I sometimes miss piloting Deathscythe," said Duo.

"Don't worry, Duo. You will have to pilot Deathscythe again, but when that time comes you will curse the necessity of it," said Heero solemnly. Everyone just stared at him, wondering what he'd meant. He shook his head to clear it. "Kuso, I hate it when that happens."

"Um, Heero, what did just happen?" asked Duo nervously.

"I can See into the future occasionally. Nothing really helpful, just flashes. I never even know the time context of what I'm seeing, but it's like I'm really there. The worst was when I saw myself self-destruct. I got to feel the whole thing as I did it."

"Wow, that sucks," commented Duo.

"Why didn't you tell us before that you have the Sight, Heero?" asked Wufei. "You said that you were telepathic and telekinetic, but you didn't mention this."

"That's because it's not really a useful ability. I can use my others powers when I want to, but I can't see into the future when I try. It comes and goes as it will, never giving me more than a glimpse."

They finished dinner in silence, deep in thought over yet another new development. Although it wasn't late, everyone went to bed soon after, still lost in contemplation over when and why Duo was fighting in Deathscythe again in Heero's Sight.

A.N. - Yay! More new powers! Where will they end? I certainly have no clue, I didn't know I was going to give Heero the Sight when I started this chapter.

**Clarobell **- I'm glad you liked it. I always thought it would be interesting to see who would beat who if the pilots ever fought, and since they didn't put it in the show, I had to write it.

**Griffen **- The question is, who is the player and who are the pawns? And is there room for angels on the board?

**Chibis Unleashed** - You're allowed to pester, just not too often. Thanks for wishing me luck on the novel, I think I'll need it. I added another few pages over the weekend, yay! I don't know who'd win in a fight between Wufei and Trowa. I guess we'll have to wait and see if it wants to get written.

**Lilly **- Thank you. I'm glad you liked it better. Yeah, Heero is quite the leader. I can picture him taking charge like that though, once someone gave him the responsibility. And I think Zechs has always respected Heero, it just was expressed differently when they were enemies. It's ok that you aren't good at cyber food. I think I just need a good cyber cookbook.

**DragonHearts **- I like it when people say my story is great! :-) Sounds like you need a new keyboard. I've never seen a keyboard with keys that didn't work. Keys that weren't there yes, but no keys that didn't work.

**The Chaotic Ones**

**Aaries** - Sorry that I spelled your name wrong. I read reviews quickly to reply, and sometimes I miss spelling. I'm glad you liked it. And I like replying to people separately, I can reply better to each person's questions that way. Great googlymoogly? :-) I am amused.

**Chaos** - Isn't Legato a bit evil to pair with Wufei? It would be an interesting contrast though. (I haven't seen DBZ either. The tv version is too edited.)

**Angel** - With the dramatic rescuing it sounds like a bodice ripper romance novel. That would be really funny, Wufei as the damsel in distress. I can just imagine his speech about justice as he's carted off over the shoulder of some Fabio lookalike. And I've noticed that you really like Fei Fei. I don't think I'll be doing an OC in this story, but maybe if you and Jef send me some stats, I'll write you a Fei Fei rescue story for a Halloween present or something. (No promises though)

**Jef** - Sorry to disappoint, but Wufei won't be in the Preventers after Sally dies. They're only sticking around there for a few years. Maybe I'll include the kidnap and seducing in that Halloween present story. As for the demonic descent, I could have guessed. I can just picture you and Angel with Wufei, one with shiny white wings and the other with horns and a tail.

For the record I am not against OC's, but I can't see myself including one in this story. That may change in the future however, since I don't know what I'm going to write until I write it.


	13. Not Simple at All

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! Pout It might be nice to actually own something. I definitely don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.  
  
A.N. - Wow, all the new reviewers are great. I love reviews.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Why didn't you tell us before that you have the Sight, Heero?" asked Wufei. "You said that you were telepathic and telekinetic, but you didn't mention this."

"That's because it's not really a useful ability. I can use my other powers when I want to, but I can't see into the future when I try. It comes and goes as it will, never giving me more than a glimpse."

They finished dinner in silence, deep in thought over yet another new development. Although it wasn't late, everyone went to bed soon after, still lost in contemplation over when and why Duo was fighting in Deathscythe again in Heero's Sight.

* * *

Chapter 13:

At about four o'clock Heero heard a quiet knock on the door of his office.

"Come in," he called, wondering who it was. The door opened to reveal Trowa.

"Quatre and I completed the mission plans just now. I thought you might want to see them."

"Thank you," Heero said, holding out his hand. He quickly read them over. The plan called for Trowa to attempt to join the organization as a former OZ and Mariemeia supporter while Quatre snuck in the back. They would each gather information, Trowa from careful questioning and observation, and Quatre by hacking their computer systems. Once they had enough evidence, they would return to Preventers to get a team to shut down the organization.

"This is a well thought out plan. Just be careful when you're infiltrating, they might recognize you, although we've tried to keep a low profile in the media."

"I'm glad you approve. I'll be careful, but I was one of the least visible of us pilots. You're the hero."

"Pun intended?" Heero asked, surprising a smile out of the normally passive pilot.

"No, but it fits," Trowa replied. "You know, you've changed a lot since you woke up after the Mariemeia thing. I wasn't sure what to make of the new you at first."

"You certainly didn't show it."

"I learned early to keep what I felt to myself, just like you."

"Don't you ever get tired of it? I know I did. There were so many times during the wars that I wanted to joke around with the other pilots."

"I got tired of it, but it's a habit that's kept me alive for so long that it's hard to break. My silence was never as absolute as yours though. I just didn't talk unless I had something to say. You hardly even talked when you did have something to say. There were a few times that I thought you were going to kill Duo just to make him shut up."

"I felt that way too sometimes, but not for the reason all of you probably thought. I wanted to make him shut up because his chatter made it harder for me to stay in character. I was really acting the whole time, although it really was partially because of the war. It was very important to me that we win, and so I was trying to avoid distractions."

"I understand."

"So do you like the new Heero, now that you've had a chance to get used to him?"

"Yes. But I don't really think that you're any different now than you were during the wars really. I saw flashes of humour and compassion in you the whole time, and that's why I never had any difficulty working with you. We're a lot alike."

"Are you going to start talking more to the rest of us now? Or are you just going to talk to Quatre still?" Trowa's mouth opened slightly in shock.

"How did you know?" he finally asked, making no effort to deny the claims.

"I may be emotionally repressed, but I'm not blind. I was suspicious about the two of you during the war, but now that I'm living with you it's obvious. Quatre is very bad at hiding how he feels about you. He certainly doesn't give the rest of us puppy-dog eyes to get us to do something with him. And your face softens sometimes when you look at him. Sometimes I would swear that you even smile."

"Oh. Do you think Duo and Wufei know?"

"I don't think Wufei knows, but Duo might have some suspicions."

"You don't have a problem with the fact that we're gay? Or that we're working together and we're in a relationship?"

"You love who you love, the gender doesn't matter. I'm interested in a guy myself, as a matter of fact." Inwardly Heero kicked himself. _"Why did I tell him that?"_ "As for you working together, you did it all through both wars, and it hasn't been a problem. I'm sure it won't be now. If it is, I may have to pair you with different people; but I don't think that will happen."

"Thank you, Heero. I think I have an idea of who you like though."

"Don't tell anybody, please."

"I won't. I better leave though. Quatre and I have to get ready for our mission, and I should tell him that you know about our relationship. Maybe it's time to let the other pilots know as well."

"If you do decide to tell them, I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with it."

Trowa suddenly chuckled. "We're the last two people you'd expect to find having a heart to heart conversation in an office."

"It's nice to just talk to someone who understands you though. Good luck with the mission preparations."

Two days later, Trowa and Quatre left on their mission. They were headed to Luxembourg, to the remains of an old OZ base. It was expected to take a week for them to get there, complete their mission, and return to headquarters. A day after they should have begun their mission, Heero received a frantic vidphone call from Quatre.

"They have Trowa!" he yelled frantically. It took five long minutes for Heero to calm Quatre down enough for him to tell his story, Duo and Wufei hovering anxiously to hear what he had to say.

"The rebels, they have Trowa. Everything seemed normal when we got here, but I had a bad feeling about the base, so I watched as Trowa started talking to them instead of entering the base right away. It was going well at first, but then another soldier came up to the ones talking to Trowa and whispered in the leader's ear. He shouted something about Gundam pilots, they all drew their guns and took Trowa prisoner. He fought back at first but he took a couple bullets and then they knocked him out and dragged him away. I don't know what they're going to do to him!" Quatre practically sobbed.

Heero slid easily in to his calm wartime persona and started issuing orders. "Quatre, you stay here and talk to Duo. Tell him everything about the base you can remember; weapons, personnel, approaches, and whatever else you can think of. Also give him your current location. We'll be there as soon as possible. Wufei, go find Sally, Zechs and Noin. I'm taking the whole team in for this one. We've obviously underestimated them, and we're the best people for the job. When you find them, load up our Gundams and their suits. I don't think we'll need them, but it's best to be prepared.

"Duo, when you finish talking to Quatre, stock up on weapons and explosives. You're our demolitions expert, bring what you think we'll need. I'm going to go talk to Une and get us a plane." Heero strode off quickly, leaving Wufei and Duo scrambling to their assigned tasks. As he moved through the halls, people hurried to get out of his way, his closed expression warning off anyone bold enough to try to talk to him. When he reached the oak door of Une's office, he knocked hard and was immediately admitted. One look at his face was all Une needed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The mission that you gave my team was a setup. I suggest you search the Preventers for a mole. They knew my team was coming. I just got a call from Quatre, Trowa was captured when he tried to infiltrate the facility. They recognized him as a Gundam pilot. I'm taking the rest of my team in to retrieve him and take out that organization." Une's face went from shocked to outraged in a matter of seconds. When she spoke, it was using the voice of Colonel Une of OZ.

"I will find whoever set this up. They will pay for setting up this kind of scheme. I give you full emergency authorization to do whatever you have to, to get to the bottom of this and remove those responsible. But are you sure that you don't want to take additional agents? There are only seven of you after all."

"Thank you Commander, but additional agents would only get in our way. Most don't have the training for this kind of operation. You put my team together because we're the best at this kind of stuff. I am bringing our suits just in case though."

"I shouldn't have even asked if you needed help. If five boys can take on the world and win, I shouldn't worry about the seven of you taking care of this. Each of you is practically an army in your own right anyways."

"Thank you Commander Une. I'll try to make sure we don't do anything to get you in trouble later on."

"The thought is appreciated, but don't try too hard. I don't take kindly to people who set up my best agents, and if anyone protests, I'll just tell them that it was under Preventers jurisdiction and to shut up. After the Mariemeia coup, the government pretty much gave us free rein to prevent such incidents from happening again. I wish I could come with you, but I have too much to do here."

"We'll take care of it. I'll call if we need more weapons."

"Good luck, Heero," Une called to his retreating back. He turned around with a predatory grin.

"Oh, I think they're the ones who are going to need luck. They are up against us after all." With that parting comment, the Perfect Soldier left to go rescue one of his comrades from the enemy.

"The enemy is going to need luck indeed if they want to stand up against the Gundam pilots angry about the capture of their friend," Une thought to herself as she watched employees scramble out of Heero's path. Some even ducked behind potted plants to hide from his glare.

Heero met up with the others in a hangar large enough to accommodate the transport plane large enough for all of their suits. It was huge, looming over all the grim looking people gathered.

"I assume Chang told you about the situation?" Heero asked.

"Yes. So what's the plan?" was Zechs' return inquiry.

"We get him back. We'll talk about the specifics on the way. Duo, was Quatre very helpful in terms of what he could remember?"

"Not at first, but man, once I got him talking he remembered _everything_. And after I got the explosives, I had a few extra minutes, so I hacked their system and got blueprints and guard schedules. Their computer security sucks, but the compound itself is crawling with guards," Duo commented.

"Good. We'll use those blueprints to come up with our plan. Is everyone ready?" A round of nods answered his question. "Then lets get going." They all boarded the plane quickly, Duo and Heero settling in to the pilots seats. They got the plane underway before setting it on autopilot and gathering with the others around a large table in the crew quarters. The information and plans Duo had gotten were spread across the table.

"Okay. Here," Heero said, pointing at the plans," is where they're likely keeping Trowa. If we enter through the air ducts, it should be easy to get in unnoticed. Quatre and Wufei will go in that way. In the meantime, Duo will enter through this door here and set explosives in the mobile suit hangar. They should be set to blow when we leave the compound to prevent pursuit.

"I will enter through the storm grate into the basement and work my way up to the computer room here. I'll download all useful information off their computers before uploading a computer virus that will wipe their entire system. That should take out the security cameras as well, and Quatre and Wufei will wait for my signal that they're offline before sneaking Trowa out. If he's ok, they can leave the same way they came in. If not, they should try and obtain uniforms, and pretend they are escorting the prisoner somewhere. I will meet up with Duo here, and we'll set some more explosives in places to cause maximum damage and confusion.

"Sally, you will wait on the perimeter to treat Trowa and anyone else with injuries. Noin and Zechs, I want you in your suits ready to be backup if anything goes wrong. Any questions or suggestions?" Duo leaned closer to the plans.

"If I plant explosives here and...here," he stabbed the paper, "I can take out some of the load-bearing walls and bring the whole complex down on their heads after we leave. These pillars in the hangar will be good places to plant bombs as well."

"What happens if Noin and I are discovered?" Zechs asked.

"Use your own judgement," Heero replied. "I trust you all to make good decisions in battle. If you see a better alternative to the plan when you're in the base, do it. Just relay the information to me so I know when and where to expect you to be. We'll be using code names only once this mission starts.

"It is now 18:45 on Wednesday. I expect to rendevous with Quatre by 03:00 tonight. We will assemble our gear and be at the base by 04:30. We enter the base at 05:00, an hour before shift change. It should be the time of day when the guards are least alert. I hope to be done the mission by 08:00, but we have to be prepared to encounter delays. Any last minute changes will be done tomorrow, once we get a look at the complex. Now get some sleep everyone, there won't be time once we land."

"Roger!" replied everyone, heading to the nearest bunk to take his advice. Only Heero and Duo lingered.

"Aren't you going to get some sleep, Heero?"

"No, I don't really need any, and someone needs to watch the plane. Go to bed, Duo. I don't want you handling explosives on no sleep."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I'm sure. I've kept far worse hours than this before, during the war. Thanks for worrying though." After Duo went to bed, Heero sat in the pilot's seat going over all possible alternatives to the plan, but he couldn't think of a better way to do it. _"I just hope this goes well."_

A.N. - We're finally getting to some action! They'll be putting Heero's plan into action next chapter, so we'll see if it works.

**Griffen** - The other four do have powers. I just haven't mentioned them in awhile. Don't worry, they'll come into play soon.

**Bright-Anarchy** - Thank you for the constructive criticism, I appreciate it. One of the main problems here is my writing style. I tend to write the basic plot first, then go back and add details later. Since I'm posting these chapters as soon as I write them, that second step doesn't happen. I know that things come too easily in this story, and I will try and change that in future chapters. (One note on that though, Quatre has trained, but hasn't gone on any actual missions yet, at least not until this chapter) You are right though, my original fiction does have more character depth. At least most of it does. I've also gotten shamelessly lazy with this story. You're really the first person to give me any constructive criticism on this story, so I've just figured that since everyone likes it the way it is, why bother trying harder? For now I think I'll try to improve some things, but when it's done, I intend to go over each chapter thoroughly and add much more detail and depth, then re-post the story. Any more comments you have to make will be appreciated! :-)

**Clarobell **- I think I might wait awhile for Duo and Heero to figure things out. Adds tension ;-)

**silverbluenchantress** - Thanks. Hope this is soon enough.

**DaughterofDeath** - New chapter is here.

**Death Phoenix** - This soon enough?

**shinigami88220** - Really? Thanks. I really appreciate your review. Really. ;-)

**Wildkat137** - Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy it in the future.

**Katreda** - I don't know when Wufei will win an argument about food with Duo. I think they just argue for fun anyways.


	14. The Base

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Don't sue me, you'll get nothing but pocket change and lint.

A.N. - I'm sorry everyone for taking so long to get this chapter out. I've either been really busy or not had access to an internet connection. Plus I now have two original novels on the go. I got stuck on one, so decided to start writing on an idea I've had kicking around in my head for awhile. I must be insane, to have this much on the go.

I will be changing the rating next chapter, just to make sure. I don't want my stories to get deleted, and I'm used to a different rating system. We don't rate things as high in Canada.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Aren't you going to get some sleep, Heero?"

"No, I don't really need any, and someone needs to watch the plane. Go to bed, Duo. I don't want you handling explosives on no sleep."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I'm sure. I've kept far worse hours than this before, during the war. Thanks for worrying though." After Duo went to bed, Heero sat in the pilot's seat going over all possible alternatives to the plan, but he couldn't think of a better way to do it. "I just hope this goes well."

* * *

Chapter 14:

Despite his assurances to Duo, Heero did doze fitfully in the pilot's chair, although it wasn't a very restful sleep. His mind insisted on conjuring up all the things that could happen if the mission didn't go as planned, and he woke every time something beeped. Finally came the beep that meant they had reached their destination. He gently set the plane down on an abandoned back road and taxied it into the cover of some trees before going to wake everyone up. Heero met up with Zechs as he turned the corner to the crew quarters.

"Are we there? I thought I felt the plane touch down."

"Yes, we've arrived. I was just on my way to get everyone up. Care to help?"

"Sure. I'll go wake up Noin and Sally." The two parted ways to wake the others, and soon everyone was assembled in the cargo hold. The forms of the five Gundams, Tallgeese, and Taurus loomed over them as they assembled their gear. Shortly after they heard a knock on the outer door of the cargo hold. All went silent, and Heero gestured for Duo and Wufei to go see who it was. Both drew their guns and slid silently across the matte grey metal surface of the hold. They disappeared behind one of the giant suits and the whoosh of the small outer door being opened echoed in the large space. A few startled exclamations followed, and then Wufei and Duo came back into sight, followed by a sheepish looking Quatre.

"Sorry for startling you, I just thought it might be easier for me to meet up with you. I would've contacted you first, but I didn't know how to get in touch with you."

"That's alright Quatre," Heero said. "Alright, we'll go back to the crew quarters and explain the plan to Quatre." Once the plan was explained, Quatre got a frightening smile on his face.

"I like the plan, Heero," he said. "Let's make sure to plant lots of explosives, show these guys what happens when they mess with one of us."

Duo leaned closer to Heero. "Is that what he was like when he used the Zero system for the first time?" he whispered. Heero nodded. "I'm sure glad he's on our side."

"Are there any questions?" Heero asked. Noone said anything. "Good. Use of code names begins now. We attack at 05:00." The old abandoned road that Heero had used as a runway used to be an access road for the base before they built a better one on the other side. He used it now to taxi the plane down until they were close to the perimeter of the base, then hid it again as best he could. They draped a camouflage net over the exposed parts, taking care to ensure that the cargo hatch could still be opened. It was 04:45.

Noin and Zechs set themselves up on a small rise with sniper rifles. They would kill anyone who noticed them off before they had a chance to set off the alarm. Sally was nearby with an assault rifle and her medical kit. She wouldn't get involved unless it was absolutely necessary. Heero, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei crept carefully towards the electric fence. Heero helped the other three over it and the barbed wire on top before jumping it himself. Once inside the compound, they separated: Quatre and Wufei heading for the duct system, Duo for a small personnel door, and Heero for the sewer pipe.

"Is everyone in place?" came Heero's voice over the headsets when everyone had reached their entrance. The replies came in quickly, one after the other.

"Water here."

"Fire and Wind ready."

"Dragon and Sand are in place."

"Shadow's ready to blow shit up."

"Ice here. Go!"

Heero's first obstacle presented itself almost immediately. A rusted grate covered the entrance to the sewer pipe, but he tore it off with ease, the old bolts shrieking at the abuse. It had been abandoned long enough to be completely dry, instead of slimy like Heero had half expected. He crawled quickly up the tunnel, reaching the point where it joined the base rapidly. The grate in the floor of what appeared to be a boiler room wasn't screwed into the floor, and lifted off easily. Drawing his pistol, he carefully checked the hallway for guards before heading towards the computer room. He passed a few slumbering men on his way there, the scent of alcohol on their breath revealing why they were passed out in the halls.

Shortly after, he reached the computer room. A glance through the window revealed one lone tech checking the system. Heero snuck up behind him and knocked him out with a single blow from the butt of his gun. He dragged the now unconscious man to the supply closet and jammed the door shut, crushing the lock in his hand. Taking a seat, he quickly began to work, downloading all the files onto disks he had stuffed into his bulletproof vest, deleting them as soon as they were copied. He'd analyse the data on them later.

While the last of the files finished copying, he created a virus that would wipe out the entire system and added enough redundant files that they'd never be able to find the real virus before it was too late. As an extra precaution, he erased all evidence that he'd even been in the system. Once he had all their information, he activated the virus and sat back to watch it go to work.

In the meantime, Duo had been carefully working his way to the hangar. He found the same thing that Heero had: most of the guards were passed out drunk.

_"Heh, makes my job easier,"_ he thought to himself. Once in the hangar, he took the first of the explosives out of his black duffle bag and got to work. He scrambled up to the catwalk, using the support girders as a ladder to plant his explosive presents. Before long the hangar was festooned with bombs, all in the most inaccessible points possible. At least if you weren't a certain braided pilot.

Wufei and Quatre had the most difficulty reaching their target. The ventilation shafts were fairly narrow, and they had grown since the first war. In the end they had to take off their bullet proof vests and find somewhere else to conceal all their equipment. Crawling on hands and knees they headed towards the cell where Trowa was being kept. On the way, they spotted a pair of soldiers snoozing near an empty room, and quickly climbed out of the ducts. Wufei quickly snapped the guards necks and both got down to the task of stripping the bodies. Once they had the clothes, they hid the bodies in the empty room and climbed back up to resume their trip. Trowa's cell wasn't that much further on and Quatre used a small bomb that Duo had thoughtfully provided to blow the lock.

As the door opened, Quatre rushed into the cell and hugged Trowa tightly. Trowa made a muted sound of pain at the close contact, and Quatre drew back again to evaluate the damage.

"Status?" Wufei asked.

"Bullet in the shoulder, four cracked ribs, a deep gash on my left side and more smaller ones, and lots of bruises," Trowa replied with a grunt. "How'd you get here?"

"Through the ventilation system. It doesn't look like we can get you out that way though." Suddenly Heero's voice crackled over Wufei's headset.

"Dragon, this is Ice. How is Air doing?"

"He's pretty beat up, but we should be able to get him out. We took a couple guard uniforms on our way in here."

"Good. The cameras should be down by now, so go ahead." Switching channels on his radio, he asked, "Shadow, how are you doing delivering the packages?"

"All the packages for the hangar are delivered."

"Right. Rendevous by the central command post."

"Roger."

Heero planted a few of the bombs he'd brought with him in various places around the computer room before leaving to meet up with Duo. All the bombs were linked to a central detonation unit, so they'd blow once the pilots were out of the compound.

"Are the computers down?" Duo asked as he met up with Heero.

"Yes." Suddenly Zechs' voice came in over their headsets, along with the 'pfft' sound of a silenced rifle.

"Fire and Wind have been spotted. We're eliminating them now, but they may have had a chance to sound the alarm." Just then a bullet shattered the wall behind Heero and Duo, a fragment imbedding itself in Heero's earpiece and rendering his headset useless. Both pilots dove for cover, returning fire at the same time. The guards who'd been shooting at them went down as the pilots' bullets found their mark.

"Shadow, tell Dragon and Sand to get out of here as fast as possible," Heero yelled.

"What?"

"Tell the others to get out of here!"

"I can't hear you!"

_"Damn,"_ Heero swore to himself. _"Well, I did want to try using my telepathy. I hope it works now." _[Everyone, my headset is not working. If you want to tell me something, you'll have to think it at me.]

{Think it at him?} was the unintentional response of most.

[Yes. I can hear all of you. Sand, Dragon, and Air, you have to leave the base as soon as possible. Fire and Wind, you look for them leaving and back them up. Shadow and I will finish planting the bombs.]

{Roger,} everyone replied. Heero ran over to Duo, and they dashed through the base, planting more bombs as they went. After a while, Heero noticed something strange. All the guards they ran into were shooting at him, not Duo. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other pilot and was surprised to see that he was hard to see. If Heero hadn't known Duo was there, he would have said that he was alone.

[Duo, I think you're using your power.]

{Huh?}

[I don't think the guards see you. Take the rest of my bombs, I'll distract them]

{Alright. Just be careful.} Heero tossed the rest of his explosives to Duo and dashed off down another hallway. As he had suspected, the soldiers followed him and left Duo alone. The continued shooting, but Duo's use of his power had given him an idea. He tried to build a telekinetic shield around himself so that all the bullets veered off course. It called for attention to detail, to keep track of all the bullets he was diverting. The shield worked for a few moments before failing. A bullet seared Heero's upper arm, and he went back to dodging. Eventually he got tired of it and shot his pursuers. Finally he heard Duo's voice inside his head.

{All the explosives are planted.}

[Good. Rendevous at the transport.] Heero turned and dashed headlong back towards the plane, shooting guards as he went. When he reached the outside, he saw the others trading gunfire with a group of soldiers. He picked off a few from the back, having to reload quickly.

[Dragon, you're supposed to be able to create fire. Give it a try.]

{How am I supposed to do that?} was Wufei's irritable response.

[Just try.] Heero saw him furrow his brow in concentration before a tiny flame appeared in his palm. Wufei's face betrayed his surprise, but it was soon lost in his effort to produce a larger flame. The tiny flame soon went out though, and he was unable to make another one. The small flame was enough for the time however. A large number of their opponents fled at the sight of him creating fire in his hand, and the ones remaining were easy to dispose of. They took a few moments to catch their breath before Duo's voice came in over their headsets and in in Heero's head.

{I'm clear of the base. Blow it.} Heero pushed the little red button and they watched Duo's handiwork decimate the base. Huge chunks of walls and ceilings blasted sky-high and flames engulfed the shell of the base. There was an even bigger blast when the flames reached the fuel depot. In the space of about a minute, the huge base was reduced to cinders and rubble. The weary pilots just stood and watched it burn until Duo rejoined them.

"Wasn't that a bit of overkill?" Heero asked dryly.

"You did tell me to blow it up. Is it my fault for wanting to do the job as thoroughly as possible?"

Quatre's eyes shone as he replied. "I think this is satisfactory," he said before trailing off into eerie laughter.

Trowa looked at him strangely. "Heero, did you give him the Zero system again or something?"

"No. This one's all your fault for getting yourself captured. First he was hysterical, then he became homicidal."

"Oh. I'll have to make sure never to let it happen again then. Quatre's really dangerous when he's like this." Just then he had an armful of said pilot as Quatre launched himself at Trowa, sobbing about blowing up Vayate with Trowa inside.

"And now he's hysterical again," commented Wufei.

"It's time to head home," said Heero.

"I want to stay a little longer. The base is so pretty now that it's on fire."

"No Duo. If we stay any longer, you'll want to blow something else up."

"Spoilsport."

"So much for an easy mission," said Trowa.

"I'm sorry. I should have researched the mission myself before giving it to you."

"It's not your fault Heero. Quatre and I could have looked into it ourselves as well, and should have before deciding on our mission plans. It was just sloppy, and we'll have to be more careful in the future."

"But for now, both of you are coming to the medical room with me," ordered Sally. "I can't believe you're standing around talking when you both have bullet wounds. I'm going to treat you right now."

"Yes Sally," they chorused. Noone argued with Sally when she took that tone.

"Zechs, could you and Duo take care of the ship? The rest of you, go get some sleep," Heero commanded before following Sally to get his bullet wound taken care of.

**Clarobell** - Thank you muchly.

**Griffen** - I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

**shinigami88220** - I'm glad you like the story. I take it that coffee makes you hyper?

**DaughterofDeath** - Here it is.

**The Chaotic Ones** - I'm glad you still like my story.

**Aaries** - Not that much 3/4 stuff in this chapter, but I promise there will be more in the future.

**Chaos** - Baby chaos in this chapter. All the explosions have to happen at once. But since Duo likes bombs, we'll be seeing much more chaos in the future.

**Angel **- :-)

**Jef **- Thank you smirks

**PR **- Sorry it took so long.

**Others** - I'm glad everyone likes this fic.

**kira **- You're welcome.

**Windy River** - I know it's not soon enough.

**Karuto-chan** - No worries, I'll definitely be keeping this fic up.

**Death Phoenix** - Glad you like it.

**ost-drauka** - Thank you. It's nice to be able to write something off the beaten path. More fun that way.


	15. Stormclouds

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters, although I do wish someone would give them to me for my birthday. Too bad that's not likely to happen sigh

A.N. - I'm sorry, I meant to update sooner, but then the whole maintenance thing was going on, and I didn't want to try uploading in case it got messed up. And I've been having problems with inspiration. I'm sad though. Not as many people are reviewing. Does that mean you don't like my story anymore? pouts

* * *

Last Chapter:

"But for now, both of you are coming to the medical room with me," ordered Sally. "I can't believe you're standing around talking when you both have bullet wounds. I'm going to treat you right now."

"Yes Sally," they chorused. Noone argued with Sally when she took that tone.

"Zechs, could you and Duo take care of the ship? The rest of you, go get some sleep," Heero commanded before following Sally to get his bullet wound taken care of.

* * *

Chapter 15:

When the team touched down on the Preventers base that evening, there was a whole team waiting for them, Une at their head. The medics immediately rushed Trowa off for full treatment of his wounds, but Heero elected to talk to Commander Une instead of having his bullet wound looked at. He judged the field dressing that Sally had put on it to be sufficient.

"Duo, you and Wufei take care of putting away the Gundams," he ordered. "Quatre, you go with Trowa. Sally, you too. You know his medical history better than any of the doctors here. Noin and Zechs, you look after your own suits."

"Did the mission go well?" Une asked.

"All considered, yes. We didn't have too many problems, although they did spot us. That base won't be a problem anymore. Duo went a little overboard with the explosions."

Une smiled, knowing Duo well enough to know exactly how much of the base would be left after he went 'overboard' with explosives. "Did you manage to retrieve any data before the base got turned into gravel?" she asked.

"Yes, a couple disks worth. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's not encoded well so it shouldn't take me very long. I'll have a full report for you in a few days."

"Good job. Go get some rest before starting work on those disks though. You look exhausted, and whatever's on them should be able to wait a few hours."

"Thank you Commander. I didn't get any real sleep on this mission, and it's been awhile since I've done that. Did you need to talk to me about anything else?"

"It can wait. I'll see you when your report's done then."

Heero gave her a brief salute and turned to help unload the Gundams. That done, they collected Trowa and Quatre from the base hospital and went to their shared house.

Heero's room was the first at the very top of the stairs to the second floor. He had automatically placed himself to be the first to deal with any threats to the house and it's inhabitants. It was simply decorated, with tan walls, a chair, desk, dresser and bed all of unfinished pine. What little colour there was in the room consisted of the curtains and bedspread, both forest green. Heero collapsed on the bed, feeling too tired to do anything but sleep. Despite his exhaustion however, Heero couldn't fall asleep so easily.

"I might as well start decrypting those disks," he thought to himself. He booted up his old battered laptop and started work on the first. The encryption on it was so poor it only took him five minutes to break through and start looking at the data. The first disk was just personnel records for the base, but Heero made a mental note to get Duo to help him check those against criminal and military records. The second disk was blueprints for mobile suits, mostly just variations of the Leo and Aries models that the Alliance used. That was of a little more concern, but nothing unexpected. They had had mobile suits on the base after all. Reassured, Heero turned off the laptop and went back to bed. This time he had no difficulty sleeping.

In the morning, he woke to the scent of bacon and eggs cooking downstairs. Wandering down, he found Quatre in the kitchen cooking. Absently wondering where someone like Quatre, with servants and houses around the world, had learned to cook; he sat and had a leisurely breakfast with the other pilots as they came to eat. They could afford to take their time, Une had given them the rest of the week off from official work.

Once breakfast was over, Heero pulled Duo aside.

"I started decrypting those disks last night, and found the personnel records for the base. I'd like you to run a check on them when you have a chance, see if we got all of them, and if any have connections to known military or criminal groups."

Duo groaned. Slinging an arm casually around Heero's shoulders, he commented, "you've got to learn to relax man. We just got home from the mission last night and you started working on those files?"

Heero desperately fought down the blush rising in his cheeks at the casual contact from the other pilot. _"Duo does this to everyone. It doesn't mean anything,"_ he thought to himself. Shrugging noncomittally, he absently commented, "couldn't sleep."

"So you decrypted some disks? We have got to get you a hobby."

"Hacking _is_ a hobby."

"Yeah, but you don't do any of the fun hacking anymore."

"I'm a Preventer now. If I did any of the 'fun' hacking, I'd have to arrest myself," Heero remarked dryly, surprising a laugh out of Duo.

"I'd like to see that." Then, abruptly changing gears he said, "if you give me that disk, I'll start work on it now." Heero grinned.

"You don't have anything to do either, huh?"

"Oh shut up. I'm just looking to see if there's another base for me to blow up."

They both laughed as Duo followed the Japanese pilot to retrieve the disk. Once Duo left with that, Heero once again booted up his laptop and pulled up the files from the disk with mobile suit information. He wanted to look at some of the modifications listed. In the end, there wasn't anything he could apply to his own suit, but some of the ideas he'd suggest to Noin and Zechs.

Pulling out the last two disks, he again swiftly decrypted the first, but what he found froze him in shock for a moment. It was a list of bio-warfare agents that the scientists working with the group had begun creating. Fortunately there had been none at the base they had destroyed, but there were several other bases with labs working on the project.

He opened another file simply labelled 'subjects' and could feel the gorge rising in his throat. The word 'subjects' had been referring to the test subjects of the bio-warfare agents and the folder was filled with pictures of what the diseases did to people. Heero had been raised an assassin, and dealt with death for as long as he could remember, but this was something that he hadn't experienced often. Certainly he'd never seen it on this scale.

He must have broadcasted his shock and disgust mentally, because in a few seconds all the other pilots burst into his room asking what was wrong. Quatre took one look at the pictures scrolling across Heero's screen and was promptly sick into the garbage can. Trowa and Wufei paled, and Duo began to shake. Flashes of his thoughts raced through Heero's mind he was thinking so hard. The words 'not again, it can't be happening again,' and pictures of a pale blonde boy covered in lesions made up most of what Heero 'heard' from Duo. He immediately shut down the image file and helped Duo to sit on his bed. The other pilot was obviously remembering something that had happened in his life.

Suddenly the image of Duo in Deathscythe that he had Seen reappeared in his mind, and Heero had a feeling he knew exactly what it was of.

"It won't happen again," he reassured the shaking pilot. "We'll stop it before it gets that far." Duo looked up at him, surprised. "You're projecting your thoughts a bit. I could somewhat hear your reaction to those pictures." Snapping back into commander mode, Heero began issuing orders. "Trowa, you look after Quatre. Duo, I want you to continue with cross-referencing the list on the disk I gave you. Wufei, you help him. I'll finish looking at this disk and the last one."

"Right," the others chorused. As soon as they were out of the room, Heero reopened the pictures file which also included detailed records of dosages, symptoms, and the name of the drug. He compiled a list of these, along with the listed potential cures of the disease. There were about fifteen different agents being developed.

Once that was done, he checked the final disk. On it was the names, locations, and personnel of the other bases the group had taken over. He quickly compiled those before heading to check on the progress Duo and Wufei had made. They were working quickly, but there was a lot of information to get through. They had even networked their laptops to make it go faster.

"I've finished what I needed to look at. I'm going to call Noin, Zechs, and Sally, then head to headquarters. We're going to need a big team on this one. Bring the information when you're done, as well as Trowa and Quatre.

"Should Trowa really be participating in a mission so soon?" asked Wufei.

"We've all done missions in worse shape. I'm going to have him coordinating the attacks and providing backup only if absolutely necessary. But do you think I could make him sit it out in any case?"

"...good point."

Leaving the room, Heero quickly walked to the vidphone downstairs. He called Zechs and Noin first, greeted by a rumpled looking Zechs with pillow marks on his face.

"This better be important, Yuy," he growled into the screen.

"It is Zechs. I can't explain over the phone, but you and Noin need to meet me at Preventers headquarters as soon as possible. I'll probably be in Une's office."

"But we just got back from the mission last night!"

"Trust me, this is important. I need you both there."

"Alright, I'll see you soon then."

"Thank you." As soon as he hung up with Zechs, he called Sally. He was greeted by Sally in a bathrobe, wet hair hanging over her shoulder, not in the usual braids.

"Oh good, you're up."

"Oh, hi Heero. Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yes, but I don't have time to tell you over the phone. Meet me at the Preventers as soon as possible. I'll explain everything there. You should be able to find me in Une's office."

"This sounds important. I'll be there shortly." He nodded in response, hanging up quickly. He grabbed the disks and the information he'd gathered, and, grabbing his jacket, rushed out the door. He took his motorcycle to Preventers headquarters, weaving recklessly in and out of traffic in an effort to get there faster. Once at the building, he strode swiftly through the corridors, making a straight line for Une's office. Again people practically dove out of the halls to make room for him to come through.

He knocked briefly on the Commander's door, but didn't wait for her response. He just walked straight in.

"Heero!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I gave you all the week off."

"I'm afraid that's going to have to be cancelled, Commander. I started looking through the files on the disks I collected from the last mission, and it turns out the rebels are far more dangerous than we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, that wasn't their only base. They have several more. All with labs developing biological warfare agents to be used against the government, the Preventers in particular. They are very close to making those diseases immune to almost everything we could throw at them, so we have to act quickly. I've called in my team, but we're not going to be enough for this."

"You're right. Did you have an idea about how to go about this?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Don't I always?"

"Yes, and they're normally good ones. That's why I asked."

"Thank you, Commander. I would advise putting Sally in charge of researching the diseases and potential cures, and trying to develop an antidote. Each of the pilots, along with Zechs and Noin can be in charge of a unit of regular Preventers. Except for Trowa. I'd like to have him in charge of coordinating the attacks.

"The regular Preventers and the team leader would go in, isolate the lab and destroy or quarantine the bio-warfare agents, and subdue any resistance. Once the base was under control, the team leader would use their mobile suit to destroy the base completely. If the diseases can't be destroyed on location, they'd have to be brought back to headquarters for disposal."

"Excellent plan. I'll recommend the best units to send, but I'm placing you in ultimate command of this mission. Do whatever you feel is necessary, we need to quickly eliminate any group that likes using biological warfare."

"Thank you Commander. How quickly do you think the units you want to send can get here?"

"I'd say about two hours."

"Then tell them to meet with me in the main briefing room at 16:00. I'll prepare all the information they need by then. We may need some supplementary units depending on what information Duo and Wufei find, but I'll let you know about that later."

"If you don't have anything else you need to tell me, you'd better go get started."

"Yeah." Turning to leave, he was greeted by Sally, Noin and Zechs just outside the door.

"Why did you call us here, Heero?" asked Noin.

"I'll tell you in my office." The other three made faces at the thought of having to wait even longer to find out, but followed him to his office anyways.

When they all filed into Heero's office, he locked the door behind them before turning and saying, "the group that the base we destroyed belonged to is developing bio-weapons for use."

A.N. - I know, I'm evil for ending it there. I didn't want to have too much in this chapter though.

**shinigami88220** - I'm glad you liked it.

**Clarobell** - No work on powers yet, it will be coming up soon though. I hope you like this chapter though.

**Windy River** - ;)

**Melahel** - Here's that chapter you've been waiting for!

**Griffen** - Yes, Quatre on Zero certainly is scary. And chaos certainly is fun. :) Look for more explosions in future chapters.

**_The Chaotic Ones_**

**Chaos** - Heeey, I want a Duo plushie. I'm the authoress. :( Camping with your dad must me insane. And did you mean disciple or discipline? I wasn't sure.

**Angel** - Thank you. They just didn't have enough Duo being Shinigami in the series.

**Aaries **- I'm glad you like the way I wrote Duo and Trowa. What do you mean what happened to poor Quatre? Lol. You think the Zero system thing was over the top?

**Jef **- At least someone liked the way I wrote Quatre 'smirks evilly'

**PR** - Nooooo! Not the G-Boys! I need them to continue this fic! If you don't give them back I won't be able to write more!

**RikoRishodeathangeloflight** - I'm glad you like my fic so far, and I hope you'll keep reading and reviewing (hint, hint) The pairings will be 1×2 and 3×4. I haven't decided on who to pair 5 with yet. I might just keep him the lone dragon.


	16. The Calm Before the Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters....blah, blah, blah. Man disclaimers suck. I hate having to admit that I don't own these characters. But if I did.....

A.N. - First of all, I'd like to say I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I was really busy getting ready to move into rez, and then I was busy getting all my stuff together for when classes start next week. Please don't kill me!

Secondly I'd like to remind you all that I love reviews, and that they help motivate me to update faster. This is not a threat, but now that I'm in university I'm not going to have as much free time, and reviews will help motivate me to use that free time to write more. :-)

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Yeah." Turning to leave, he was greeted by Sally, Noin and Zechs just outside the door.

"Why did you call us here, Heero?" asked Noin.

"I'll tell you in my office." The other three made faces at the thought of having to wait even longer to find out, but followed him to his office anyways.

When they all filed into Heero's office, he locked the door behind them before turning and saying, "the group that the base we destroyed belonged to is developing bio-weapons for use."

* * *

Chapter 16:

The group that Heero had just made his startling announcement to was stunned silent. Sally was the first to recover, and naturally her first question was a medical one.

"What kind of diseases have they been working on, and is there any way to cure them?"

"They have twenty-five diseases being developed at the moment. Most of them seem to be targeted to degrade cell structures, and cause quick, painful deaths. A few seem to be based on the disease Ebola, which had been a major problem in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in underdeveloped nations. There is still at least one cure left for each disease, or was when I collected the information from that base. That may have changed by now which is why we have to act as quickly as possible."

"What's the plan then, Heero?" asked Zechs seriously.

"I'll explain it more fully when the rest of the pilots get here, but we'll all be leading teams to different bases." As Zechs was about to ask another question, Duo burst in the door; followed by Trowa, Quatre and Wufei.

"Hey Heero, I got some more information for you," panted Duo.

"Good, show me later. For now I'm going to explain what the plan is. Each of us is now a Preventer team leader. Sally, you're in charge of the medical team. I'll give you the list of diseases and potential cures, and it's up to you to make sure we can help anyone who gets infected.

Trowa, I'm putting you in charge of coordinating the attacks. You're too injured to be involved in direct combat at the moment, but if anyone needs backup it's up to you to provide it. The rest of us will lead our teams into separate bases and quarantine their labs before any diseases can be unleashed. If we can destroy the bio-warfare agents safely on site, we will. If not, we'll be bringing them back to Sally to be neutralized. For safety's sake, the medical team will be set up in a secure lab away from other Preventers buildings.

Once the biological agents have been removed, the teams will exit the bases. The team leaders will then use their Gundam or other mobile suit to completely eradicate the base, paying particular attention to the labs. We can't afford any mistakes on these missions. These diseases spread quickly once released. Any questions?"

"So we're going to just destroy the bases with everyone inside?" Quatre looked sick.

Before Heero could answer, Duo spoke up. "Do you really want the type of people who use these kinds of methods alive, Quatre? I've seen what these kinds of plagues can do to people. Death is a mercy to anyone who uses bio-warfare. True justice would be infecting them with their own creations." Most of the others looked shocked and more than a little horrified at Duo's statement. Although he called himself Shinigami, the God of Death, noone really thought that the braided trickster would go that far for vengeance.

"I understand how you feel, Duo, but that would be too risky. There's always the chance that they would spread the infection," said Heero, unaffected. He'd seen Duo's memories, knew a little of what the L2 plague had been like.

_"I will not allow anyone else to experience what I have,"_ Duo swore to himself. _"I will not allow any of these diseases to be spread."_

/I'll help you/ remarked Heero in Duo's mind. /When you were projecting your thoughts at the house, I saw you holding your friend as he died. We won't let that happen to anyone else./

/Were you listening to my thoughts?/ Duo asked, hurt and more than a little angry.

/Not deliberately. You think very loud when you're like this, and I can't help overhearing. I can't control my telepathy that well yet./

/Thank you then, for offering to help./ Duo felt the truth of Heero's words. Speaking mind to mind as they were, it was impossible to lie. The message was passed as much in emotions as it was in words.

"Are you sure I can't be of use attacking a base?" asked Trowa.

"You can't!" shouted Quatre, "I almost lost you!" Then flushed bright red as he realized what he'd just admitted.

"So, are you finally going to admit how you two feel about each other?" asked Duo.

"Ummm...sorry, Trowa. I didn't mean to blurt it out like that, especially at a time like this."

"That's ok little one. We might as well tell everyone else, although Heero already knows."

After the commotion generated by the fact that Heero knew, Quatre and Trowa's relationship was explained and they got back to the matter at hand.

"Aside from Quatre's objections, you're still fairly seriously injured. While that wouldn't stop you if we needed you, it's not really necessary that you fight so soon. There are six bases, and six healty pilots to lead the attacks on those bases. You'll be of more use coordinating our attacks. We should all begin at the same time so they don't have time to warn each other or call for reinforcements."

The next question came from Wufei. "Are you sure we need to use our Gundams? It seems like the job could be done as well by bombs."

"Normally that would be the case, yes, but in this case that wouldn't work. We'll have to leave the bases quickly once the bio-warfare agents are secured or destroyed.. The bombs couldn't be set beforehand either because there's always the chance that either they or we would be discovered. If the bombs were discovered they would be diffused, and if we were discovered the alarm would be raised. We couldn't afford to have even one bomb go off, and there's the potential of the lab being sealed off completely if we're discovered. The Gundams are the only way to safely ensure that the base and all the remnants of the diseases are destroyed. The bases will also likely have mobile suits, and the Gundams are the best way to defend ourselves from those."

"Alright then. When are we meeting with our teams?"

"They're being selected by Une. She knows the capabilities of the different Preventers best. We're supposed to meet with them in the main briefing room at 1600, which is in," he looked at his watch quickly, "forty-five minutes. I've printed off the layouts of all the bases from the disks I had. They're all in Europe or Asia, so it'll be relatively easy to coordinate our attacks.

"Duo, if you give me the additional information you found, I'll give it to a separate Preventer team to act on. Sally, your team should be down in medical right now. Here's a printout of all the information you need, and here's the disk that the original is on. Once you've collected your team, take them to the lab in Xiaolang. It's the closest one with the kind of contamination protection we need.

"The rest of you, take this time to look over the plans of your respective bases. I labelled all of the maps according to who's attacking what. It's up to you to plan your own way in, you're all team leaders now. Meet up again when we're due to meet up with our teams."

The pilots separated, reconvening in the main briefing room in time to see the Preventer agents they would be commanding filing in, confused but concerned expressions on their faces. Heero had used his time well. He had compiled a list of diseases and overviews of the bases to show the agents. Their expressions changed from confused to shocked and horrified, finally to resolute as Heero explained the problem and the plan. Then he split them all into their respective groups, allowing the team leaders to explain the details of their individual missions.

Showing his own team of ten into a side room, he asked, "could you all tell me your name, rank, and skills. I need to know what you can do so I can appoint specific tasks." In the other rooms, the other pilots were doing much the same.

"Sergeant Jane Raphael, sir. I'm a sharpshooter and stealth expert."

"You're on point then. You go in first along with me, and we'll take out all the guards in the way." Heero told her.

"Private Elric Jameson, computer expert."

"Good," said Duo. "You hack into their system before we go in and disable as much of their security as you can."

"Lieutenant Aritomo Hiei, Captain. I'm a weapons specialist, but I also have a degree in microbiology."

"Do you know anything about disease containment?" asked Quatre.

"Enough to be of some use, sir."

"Good. You'll be helping make sure all the bio-warfare agents are either destroyed or secure for transport."

Each group had roughly the same kinds of specialists, and a few excellent all around soldiers. Heero assigned a few of his general agents as a distraction off site so it would be easier for the rest of the team to sneak in. Wufei was unused to planning for anyone but himself, and felt somewhat uncomfortable in command of a team. In the end however, he came up with much the same plan as the others. Noin and Zechs felt somewhat nostalgic, memories of commanding OZ units surfacing after being long buried.

In the end all the units were ready to leave the Preventers base by 1800. They all boarded fast transport shuttles large enough to carry the mobile suits of the team leaders. All headed full speed towards their assigned base, and Trowa set up his coordination team at a central location. Once that had been established, he was in constant communication with the team leaders.

"Dragon here, my team is in place."

"Roger that Dragon," Trowa responded. "How about you Sand?"

"We are a few minutes away from our destination."

"Fire's team has landed," came Noin's voice a few minutes later, followed closely by Zech's confirmation. Heero and Duo had taken the bases furthest away, but their arrival communications came in about ten minutes later.

"Is everyone in place?" Trowa made the final check.

"Roger," came the rapid response from the others.

"Go!" And the operation began.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Thank you. I'm glad you still enjoy my story. I quite liked writing Quatre and Duo in that chapter, it was a lot of fun. And Duo will be blowing up lots in the future. Keep reading!

**shinigami88220** - Sugary substances are so good though! Late nights aren't bad either. It's currently 4:32 am and I'm just finishing off this chapter. I love that quote. I had to use it for my MSN name.

**Clarobell** - Thanks. Yup, you're going to have to wait and see. But they're immortal now, so they won't die of it.

**Windy River** - Grrrrrrr. Stop saying that. ;-) lol

**Griffen** - I don't think there's any kind of warfare I'm going to leave out. It would get boring I think if I always had the same kind. And I think genetic is the same as bio, but maybe I'll make up a new definition of genetic. I'm glad that none of my chapters have been dull. Thanks for your wishes for school. It shouldn't be too bad, since all the subjects I'm taking are ones I enjoy. It'll just keep me busy.

**The Chaotic Ones:**

**Chaos** - Wow, I wish me and my dad had burned down an entire city! Did you make s'mores over the flames and dance around chanting? The thing that's up with Duo is the whole L2 colony thing. I touched on that a bit more in this chapter, and I think there'll be even more in the next chapter (although I never know for sure what I'm going to write until I write it)

**Aaries **- Thanks for returning the pilots, I needed them. A bit more Duo and Heero in this chapter. In the future Heero will be very supportive when Duo's dealing with the plague thing. 'wink wink' Hooray, plushies! I'm very sorry I didn't update sooner. Life happened.

**Angel** - It's all your fault that Wufei isn't in this chapter much. Yours and Jef's. I couldn't use him very well when you'd stolen him.

**A fan under the fan** - I was thinking about making it a threesome, possibly a fluctuating one. I think I'll let Treize stay dead though. He seemed pretty determined to get that way. :-) I always like hearing from new readers.

**Death Phoenix** - Maybe I'll do a better job of updating quickly this time.

**Katreda** - Thanks. My inspiration is pretty weird, my imagination's messed up and overactive. I'm going to cheat a bit with the eternity thing, although probably not in the way people would expect. After all, I don't want to be working on this story for the rest of my life, and stories get boring if they go on too long. This story isn't one that would be good to leave people hanging on either.


	17. Cleansing Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.

A.N. - I am very sorry. I meant to update last Friday, but I was ill and since then I've been doped up on sleeping medication so I could get to class on time. (Although it didn't always work) Trust me, you _don't_ want to read what I'd write when under the influence of sleep meds.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Is everyone in place?" Trowa made the final check.

"Roger," came the rapid response from the others.

"Go!" And the operation began.

* * *

Chapter 17:

The pilots and their teams moved quickly, eliminating resistance as they went. Une had chosen the team members well, and they moved as a well oiled machine, following the plans to the letter. Duo's team had some problems when they came across a few soldiers holding blast shields, but he quickly eliminated them with a savagery that shocked some of his team. Trowa checked from pilot to pilot, keeping track of the status of all the missions.

Heero's team was the first to reach the labs. He quickly ordered some of his team to seal off the area and watch all the entrances. He and Sergeant Raphael went quickly through the labs, killing all personnel they found. Noone who knew how to manufacture the bio-weapons could be allowed to escape. That completed, those members of the team who weren't watching the doors began to round up the diseases. The computer expert looked through the files for cures and ways to destroy them.

"Air, we have some cures for Water to try," Heero said over his microphone. He relayed them quickly to Trowa, and then Trowa would tell Sally.

"Sir," one of his team members said, "we've destroyed what we could, but there's no way listed to get rid of the majority of the diseases."

"Alright," Heero replied briskly, "we'll have to carry them out. Be careful. We don't know how secure these containers are."

On other parts of the continent, things were going much the same way. Duo's computer expert, Private Jameson had improvised his own virus to modify the security systems so that the only passcodes they wouldn't accept were the ones that the soldiers on the base used. Duo was laughing at the bewildered guards on the security cameras, trying every code they knew and still failing to open the doors.

In the base Quatre had been assigned, the microbiologist Lieutenant Aritomo had taken charge of disease disposal. Unlike Heero's team, he had been able to come up with a way to destroy almost all of the diseases. There were only a few canisters remaining to transport.

Zechs' team had some difficulty locating the lab itself, as the location was not as it had been shown on the blueprints, but the bio-weapon disposal and transport was going well. Noin had settled comfortably back into command, and had almost finished removing the diseases from the base. Wufei, despite his original doubts about commanding others, was also doing well.

That's when something went terribly wrong. One of the members of Heero's team, an relatively new recruit, dropped one of the containers. Fortunately Heero was the only one nearby, as the lid cracked open slightly and a pale yellow gas began to leak out.

"Shit," swore Heero under his breath, dashing down towards the container and forcing the lid back tight with all his considerable strength.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to drop it. It was an accident," the young private was pale and shaking as he stammered out an apology.

"Save it private. Apologies aren't going to fix anything. What exactly were you carrying?"

"It was called _tenrecidae bubolonium_, sir."

"Alright. You stick with me, we're going to have to keep this away from the rest of the team."

"Yes sir."

"Air, we have a problem."

"What is it, Ice?"

"One of the containers leaked. Ask Water if she has a cure for _tenrecidae bubolonium_ yet. If not, she'd better get working on it. We're going to need it."

"Shit, Heero. Are you infected?"

"Yes, but it shouldn't affect me. The guy who dropped it is a different story though."

"I'll get her working on it."

"Appreciated." Heero then switched channels so he was talking to the rest of his team. "Don't use the original route back to the lab. A container leaked, and now the hallway is contaminated. Sergeant Raphael, you take point. You'll have to find a new route. I'll be taking Private Sugoff with me, along with the leaky container. Let me know when the base is clear."

"Yes sir!" was the businesslike reply from Sergeant Raphael.

Heero led the unlucky private from the base, making sure the transport plane was completely clear of all people before he went in to retrieve Wing Zero. Walking it carefully outside, he picked up Private Sugoff and the container together, settling both into the cockpit. It was a tight fit, and the private wound up crammed behind the seat.

"Don't pay attention to any of the images you might see," Heero told Sugoff, who was staring around in awe at actually being _inside_ the famed Wing Zero.

"Why not, sir?" he asked, startled.

"The Zero system can trick your mind if you're not used to it. It's made people go insane in the past."

"Oh. Then why can you use it?" was the next question.

"I got used to it, and had a strong enough will to stay sane." Just then the confirmation that the base had been cleared came in. "Hold on, it's going to be bumpy," Heero said as he commanded Zero to rise into the sky. In the end, all it took was one shot from Zero's buster rifle to completely eliminate the base. As it went up in flames, flashbacks of the destruction of Libra, and falling from the sky after destroying the blast shield over the Brussels Presidential residence rushed through his mind.

"Ninmu kanryu," whispered Heero, lost in the past for a moment.

"That was impressive," commented Sugoff, bringing him back to the present. All of a sudden Heero felt his back ache and had an urge to fly, really fly, away from all this destruction and death.

"The base has been destroyed, Air," Heero reported.

"Roger that Ice. Sand, Fire, Wind, and Dragon have finished as well, but Shadow is having difficulty stopping."

"Alright, I'll go over there. I'm the closest, and have an idea about how to stop him." Heero guided Zero towards the base Duo was stomping into the ground, transforming into bird mode to make the flight faster.

When he arrived, he saw Deathscythe standing in the middle of base, surrounded by flames but raising the glowing scythe for yet another strike. It looked exactly like the Sight he'd had before this began, complete with the sound of laughter coming in over the comlink. Sighing inwardly, Heero transformed from bird mode again and sent a blast from his buster rifle at a part of the base Duo wasn't in. The other pilot's angry face popped up over the vidlink seconds later.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Heero? This was my base to take care of!"

"You'd destroyed it before I got here. It's ok, Duo, they can't hurt anyone anymore." He could see Duo really look at the base for the first time and see the destruction.

"I did all this?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's enough. Time to head home. I have to take this guy to the medical centre Sally's got set up first though, and get disinfected myself." Duo's face looked horrified at that.

"You mean you're infected?"

"One of the containers leaked. I had to seal it again. It's ok though Duo, I'm immune, remember?" Relief washed over Duo's face.

"Oh yeah." With a note of vulnerability in his voice, he asked, "hurry, please?"

Heero was surprised at first, but answered softly, "alright, Duo." Both pilots turned their Gundams in the direction of Beijing. It was about an hour's flight there, and Heero flew near the city with Duo before turning his Gundam in the direction of Xiaolang. Once there, he set Zero down gently. The container was again put into the Gundam's hand for transport to the ground. A team of bio-hazard suit wearing scientists greeted them on the ground, Sally included. The rest took charge of Private Sugoff and the cannister while Sally led Heero off separately, saying he was a special case and she'd take care of his treatment personally.

"So how'd you manage to get yourself infected?" she asked him once they were alone.

"The private dropped the cannister he was carrying and the lid cracked open a bit. I had to seal it back on, and came in contact with the disease in the process."

"Ah. So what did you tell everyone else?"

Heero smiled a bit. "That it leaked."

"That kid is lucky. You could have ended his whole career if you wanted to."

"I would have if he'd been careless. It was just a simple accident, his hand slipped, and he couldn't hold it in just one."

"I assume you just want to be disinfected then?"

"That's all that really necessary, but better give me an injection just in case someone asks. I'd appreciate it if you would take care of decontaminating Zero yourself, if possible. The fewer people that see the instrumentation, the better."

"I'll take care of it right away. Now that all the bio-weapons are secure, it's less urgent to find cures. You're lucky that the leaky cannister had one of the few diseases we'd finalized a cure for though."

"I know. Thank you, Sally. I should be on my way," his face softened. "I promised Duo I wouldn't take too long."

Sally smiled knowingly. "You really like him, don't you."

"Yes," Heero replied simply.

"Good luck. You two are good for each other."

Heero was slightly shocked by her casual acceptance before smiling in return. "Thank you."

He quickly left the base, pausing briefly to have a word with the Preventers guarding it before borrowing a jeep to get back to the city. He was greeted by all the other pilots, along with Noin and Zechs when he returned.

"We heard what happened, are you alright?" asked Quatre anxiously.

"I'm fine, Quatre. We're immortal, remember? Diseases can't hurt us. I got a dose of the cure just in case though." He saw the last of the pinched anxiety leave Duo's face with that last comment. Before he knew it, he had an armful of braided pilot hugging him so tightly he could hardly breathe.

"I'm glad you're alright, Yuy," Zechs said as Heero half-heartedly attempted to pry the limpet masquerading as a pilot off.

"Thank you, Zechs," he returned gravely. He spotted Une walking towards them with a faint but visible smile on her face. It must have been quite the scene, Duo wrapped around Heero and Quatre clutching on to Trowa's arm. Now that they'd admitted that they were together, it didn't look like Quatre was going to let Trowa out of his sight if he could avoid it.

"Good work, everyone," Une commended them as she drew even with the group. "Failing an apocalypse, you can all go back to your well-deserved break, but this time you get two weeks."

"Thank you, Commander," they all chorused.

"You're welcome. Go!" she replied, and they hurried to comply. Zechs looked like he was going to resume his interrupted sleep as soon as he got home.

"Um, Duo? You have to let go so I can walk," Heero prompted. Duo let go, flushing to the roots of his hair with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'll try not to do that again." Duo sounded ashamed and Heero hastened to reassure him.

"I don't mind you hugging me, I just can't walk when you're wrapped around me like that." Duo's head snapped up in surprise.

"You don't mind if I hug you? I thought you hated physical contact."

"From strangers, yes. For too long I associated contact with pain. But from people I know, I don't mind anymore." Duo seemed to need to test that, immediately grabbing hold of Heero's hand. When the Japanese pilot didn't object right away, he took off, dragging Heero towards the car.

"Come on guys," he yelled to the others. "Let's go home."

"Wait up, Duo," Quatre called as the others followed. Once home, they sat around in the living room to discuss what had happened. Quatre sat on Trowa's lap on one of the chairs and Wufei was in the other, with Duo and Heero sharing the couch. Duo proved himself unwilling to lose contact with Heero, curling up against the other pilot. For his part, Heero didn't seem to mind, casually wrapping an arm around Duo.

"So what happened today, Heero," Wufei asked.

"The container Sugoff was carrying leaked," replied Heero. "But since we're immortal, it didn't affect me. It had started to work on him by the time I got him to Sally though. He'd started to develop a fever and was shaking too."

"Will we get sick anymore?" was Trowa's question.

"No. As immortals we are immune to sickness. I wouldn't be surprised if our wounds started healing faster too."

"Why was it hard for the soldiers to see me when we rescued Trowa?" asked Duo.

"That is your power, or one of them at least. You'll probably develop more. We're all going to have to work on developing our powers so we can use them reliably. My telepathy is pretty consistent, but my telekinesis and my Sight aren't. I don't know how to strengthen our abilities, but I would guess using them is probably the best way."

"So we're really immortal, huh?" commented Quatre to himself. The reality of it was just starting to sink in for all of them. That they would never age, never die. Although the true challenges of being angels were yet to come, coming to terms with their new lives was difficult for all of them.

A.N. - One of my longer chapters to date. I hope everyone likes it. Please review. See if anyone can guess what I'm deliberately trying to avoid calling the Gundam pilots.

**Clarobell** - Yeah, I think Heero would make a good leader. He seemed to be in the series at least. Here's some action for you.

**shinigami88220** - I love sugar too. My parents used to tell me to stop staying up late, but I stopped listening to them long ago.

**darkinuyasha** - Is Hiei someone special? I just remembered hearing the name somewhere so I included it. I'm glad you like the fic.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Not so many explosions, but lots of fire in this chapter. Hooray for sugar highs! I don't really get them though.

**Windy River** - Keep reading!

**Kellies** - I appreciate the constructive criticism, but it would help a bit more if you'd tell me more specifics on what I have to work on. I have asked for a beta reader, but didn't get any response. If you're volunteering, I'd be happy for the input. I'll say to you what I've said to another reader with similar comments. This isn't my full writing style. I tend to write the plot first, then go back and flesh out the details. Since I post as soon as I write, that second step doesn't happen. I'm not going to change my writing style on this for now, as that would interrupt the feel of the story, but I do plan on going back, reediting everything and adding detail, then reposting it when the fic is done.

**Bright-Anarchy** - Thank you, I'm glad you think my writing has improved. I know Quatre's a bit unbalanced right now, but I needed that to develop the relationship between him and Trowa, since Trowa's not a demonstrative kinda guy. He'll be settling down in the future, once he feels more secure in the relationship.

Rereading the story, I see what you're talking about with the different plots being unconnected. I've tried to somewhat correct that in this chapter, and I hope they'll fully mesh in the future. As for the super-villains, they're coming. I didn't want to put an overly powerful group so early in the story, especially not so soon after Mariemeia's coup. For the time being they'll be dealing with garden-variety evildoers, but there will be mega-bad guys at some point. (I'm in an odd mood, hence the unusual expresssions) I wanted to develop their powers before I set them up against someone really tough. Thanks for the feedback!

**Death Phoenix** - Thank you.

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**Angel **- That's ok, he's still in one piece....I hope. Sorry he wasn't in this chapter much, he's not much for leading missions. I'll try and have a Wufei chapter in the future, I promise.

**Jef **- I know you like him, but so does everyone else. It's called sharing. Yeah, life sucks sometimes. University makes it busy. Stories are good though. I'll have to look that story up.

**Aaries **- No problem. I'm a bit in the dark about the L2 thing myself, so I'm making it up as I go along. I think I'll have Duo tell Heero all about it in the next chapter. I'm glad you like the fic.

**Chaos **- As long as there was something roasted over the fire, it's all good. Heh heh, demonic learnings. I'm taking a university course on evil myself. It tends to make people very nervous when I tell them I'm taking that course, I'm taking tae kwan do, and I like katanas.

**scotty-lass** - Oh, no problem. Computers are evil that way, crashing and all. Brilliant? Stop, you're making me blush. I'm always entertained by your sugar-high prompted ramblings. You're going to break the chair if you keep doing that. I hope you have lots of glue.


	18. Memories and Nightmares

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. The plot is mine though.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"No. As immortals we are immune to sickness. I wouldn't be surprised if our wounds started healing faster too."

"Why was it hard for the soldiers to see me when we rescued Trowa?" asked Duo.

"That is your power, or one of them at least. You'll probably develop more. We're all going to have to work on developing our powers so we can use them reliably. My telepathy is pretty consistent, but my telekinesis and my Sight aren't. I don't know how to strengthen our abilities, but I would guess using them is probably the best way."

"So we're really immortal, huh?" commented Quatre to himself. The reality of it was just starting to sink in for all of them. That they would never age, never die. Although the true challenges of being angels were yet to come, coming to terms with their new lives was difficult for all of them.

* * *

Chapter 18:

Later that night, Heero heard a tentative knock at his door. "Come in," he called, and was unsurprised to see that it was Duo.

Duo shuffled his feet nervously before clearing his throat and looking up at Heero. "Um, I just want to apologize for earlier. I know you said you didn't mind, but I shouldn't have grabbed onto you like that."

"It's alright, Duo. I know you wouldn't do something like that normally, and I really didn't mind. It's because of what happened on L2, right?"

Duo looked surprised before answering. "Yeah, that's right. I was just worried I was going to lose another friend to the plague. How did you guess?"

"From Seeing you holding that blonde boy that one time. I knew you were from L2, and seeing that reminded me of hearing about the plague on L2. The guy I was staying with at the time was supposed to do a job on that colony, but we had to avoid it because of the sickness."

"Ah. I keep forgetting that you Saw that. Do you want me to tell you exactly what it was that you Saw?"

"If you don't mind telling me." Heero sat on the bed and gestured for Duo to join him. The braided pilot sat down heavily, sighing before he began to speak.

"I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I was always on the streets, I don't remember ever having a home or a real family. But when I was about four, another street kid found me. He was the leader of a gang of 'street rats'. He wasn't that much older than the rest of us, probably only about eight, but he took care of us. None of us knew what our real names were, so we made up our own. His was Solo. They mostly called me 'kid' or 'Dodger'. He taught me how to steal, and I got good enough at it that I became his second. Solo was like my big brother, the only family I was likely to ever have.

"Then the plague came when I was six or so. The rich people got vaccinated, but the Alliance didn't care what happened to a bunch of street rats. My gang got sick, so I went to steal vaccines from the Alliance hospital. I got enough for everyone but me. It was too late though, most of the gang still died. Solo died in my arms as I was about to give him the cure. That's when I took the name Duo, so I would never be alone. Even though I didn't take the vaccination, I never got sick though."

"That's probably because of the Powers that Be. They didn't want to lose one of their chosen guardians."

"I never thought about it that way before. That certainly explains it though."

"So what happened after that? If you don't mind telling me."

"Then I became the leader of the gang, what was left of it anyways. We kept ourselves alive by stealing food until I was eight. Then the Alliance demolished the abandoned building were we living in and we got shipped off to the Maxwell Church. The rest of the members of my gang were adopted, but noone wanted me. But Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were always nice to me. It was Sister Helen who taught me how to braid my hair. I think they wanted me to become a priest.

"It was then that I went to school for the first time. The Alliance gave me a scholarship to one of their schools, but it didn't work very well. All the other kids made fun of me, and started fights with me. Then I got in trouble for sending them to the hospital." At Heero's somewhat surprised look, Duo said, "I'd been living on the streets all my life, I knew how to fight a lot better than those spoiled rich kids.

"Anyways, I was happy living at the church until later that year, when rebels decided to use it as a base. They got angry at Father Maxwell and Sister Helen for saying that we shouldn't fight, and hit them. I agreed to steal a mobile suit for them if they'd leave the church. I succeeded in getting it, but when I got back to the church it was on fire and everyone was dead. Sister Helen lived long enough to tell me that Father Maxwell kept preaching peace until the end. I took the last name Maxwell in memory of them.

"After that, I just wandered around until one day I stowed away on a Sweepers ship and got caught. That's when I met up with Dr. G and he turned me into a Gundam pilot." Duo had been talking as unemotionally as he could while telling Heero his history. _"I don't want to cry in front of Heero,"_ he thought to himself. _"Boys don't cry."_

To distract himself, he asked, "so Heero, who was the guy you were travelling with when you almost went to L2? Was it that Odin guy you mentioned?"

"Yes. I was raised by Odin until I was eight. I don't know where he found me, or why he took me in. All he ever told me was that space took everything away from me. He was an assassin, and trained me to be the same. I was his cover, that I was his son and he was travelling from colony to colony with me looking for part-time jobs. He wasn't a bad sort, for an assassin, but like I've said he didn't know what to do with a kid. Mostly he just treated me like a very short adult, but he did some fun things with me once in awhile. We went camping a lot. He taught me just about everything I know about guns.

"When I was eight, we went to the colony X-18999 for a final job. He told me when we got there that he was going to abandon me on that colony, that I was supposed to be a normal kid and go to school or something. He was there to kill General Septem, but the colony rebels were attacking at the same time, led by Quinze. Odin failed in killing Septem and was killed by Dekim Barton. The rebels were stopped by Treize and his Specials, but I hit his suit with a missile before going to find Odin. Just before he died, he told me to follow my feelings. After that, I used the detonator he'd had in his hand to blow the base.

"I wandered alone after that for awhile, before I met Dr. J in an alley, and he trained me to be the Perfect Soldier and told me to take the code name Heero Yuy. Ironic really, seeing as how Odin was the one who killed the original Heero Yuy."

"He did? You were raised by the guy who shot Heero Yuy? Man, that's weird. And meeting all those people on X-18999, it's like a precursor of what happened with Mariemeia."

"Yeah. We had unusual childhoods."

"So you were with Odin all that time, but he never named you?"

"No, he just called me Kid, or son if our cover called for it."

"Did he ever say why he never named you?"

"No, I think he thought it wasn't his place because he wasn't my parent."

"Oh, well that makes some kind of sense at least. Are you ever going to look for your parents?"

"No. I think Odin would've sent me to them at some point if they had still been alive, and what would I say to them anyways? Hi, mom and dad. I was raised by an assassin and became a Gundam pilot, and now I'm an angel. I don't think that even the most open minded parents could deal with that easily. How about you?"

"No. There's only two ways you become an orphan as early as I did. Either you're abandoned or your parents are dead. I'd prefer to hold on to the fantasy that my parents died in a tragic accident, rather than find out for sure that I was abandoned."

"I can understand that. It's getting kind of late though, we should get some sleep."

"Um, Heero, do you mind if I stay with you again tonight? It's just that, I get nightmares when I talk about Solo or the church."

"Sure Duo. I don't mind at all," said Heero kindly. The two of them got ready for bed quickly and turned out the lights.

A.N. - I know, it's kinda short. Deal with it. I've got a lot to do right now. I'll try and have another chapter for you next weekend though.

**shinigami88220** - Yeah, parent's rules suck. I'm glad I'm in rez now. Good quote.

**Clarobell** - Yup, but that's the problem. It's far more difficult to admit you like someone to the person you like.

**Mystical-Maiden** - Thank you very much. I do my best to develop the characters and make them seem more like real people. Duo and Heero do make a good couple, much better than Relena and Heero. (In my opinion at least) Keep reviewing!

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**Angel **- Yes, there will really be a Wufei chapter. No, you cannot seduce him. I need him intact.

**Aaries **- Thank you. Please help me restrain Angel and Jef so I can actually include Wufei in my fic without having to search for him or wait for him to heal first. More of Duo's history in this chapter. I hope I got it right. If not, I'm the authoress, right?

**Jef** - I've looked up the story, although it was hard. I couldn't find you by typing in the pen name. I had to search for the story title instead.

**Chaos** - I actually don't have a katana yet. I couldn't afford one, but I did get a really cool backhanded dagger.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - I know Duo clinging was a bit weird, but he had a good reason, really! I hope I explained said reason well in this chapter.

**Windy River** - :P (That's meant to be me sticking my tongue out at you)

**darkinuyasha** - Ok, ok. No touching. I've never seen Yu Yu Hashuko, so I didn't know he was from that.

**Griffen **- A prank from Duo? Really? Cool!

**Death Phoenix** - They will continue to get closer in the future, I think. They haven't told me for sure yet.

**scotty-lass** - I'm great, how about you? My head is about to explode from how much I'm blushing from your praise. Sorry I didn't update faster, I had to check some details and didn't have my copy of Episode Zero in rez with me. I'm glad you have lots of glue. If you run out, let me know and I'll send you e-glue.


	19. Fire Flowers

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. But if you steal my plot I'll borrow them and send Heero in Zero after you.

A.N. - I am so sorry this took so long! Please don't kill me! I got hung up on the martial arts aspects of this chapter, then RL started kicking my ass. I got really busy, then I got sick, then I got really busy again, all while still being hung up on the martial arts (I wanted to make it seem rather realistic. I take Tae kwan do, but I don't know the really advanced forms yet.) This is as best as I can do for now. I promise to have another chapter up this weekend, Sunday by the latest.

This chapter is for Angel and Jef.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"No. I think Odin would've sent me to them at some point if they had still been alive, and what would I say to them anyways? Hi, mom and dad. I was raised by an assassin and became a Gundam pilot, and now I'm an angel. I don't think that even the most open minded parents could deal with that easily. How about you?"

"No. There's only two ways you become an orphan as early as I did. Either you're abandoned or your parents are dead. I'd prefer to hold on to the fantasy that my parents died in a tragic accident, rather than find out for sure that I was abandoned."

"I can understand that. It's getting kind of late though, we should get some sleep."

"Um, Heero, do you mind if I stay with you again tonight? It's just that, I get nightmares when I talk about Solo or the church."

"Sure Duo. I don't mind at all," said Heero kindly. The two of them got ready for bed quickly and turned out the lights.

* * *

Chapter 19:

In a room near where Duo and Heero had been talking, another pilot was thinking of his past and what could happen in the future....

Wufei tried to meditate, but flashes of his old colony kept running through his mind. The most recurring image was a field of flowers, and his wife Meiran dying in his arms.

_"What would Meiran think of all this? What would she think of her husband becoming an angel after being a Gundam pilot? What am I supposed to do now? I never thought I would survive the first Eve war, much less be allowed to live after helping Mariemeia."_

He kept trying to meditate in silence, but too many memories and images were flashing through his head. He just couldn't get that stillness and certainty that he'd achieved in the past, albeit rarely since the death of Meiran and the destruction of his colony. Standing up abruptly, he headed to the dojo they'd set up downstairs. If silent meditation wasn't going to help, maybe going through his forms would.

The dojo the pilots had set up for themselves wouldn't have looked out of place in traditional China. The walls were painted plain white, and there were a few scrolls with brush writing on them. Aside from that, the only decoration was Wufei's Watou(1) in its sword stand near the front of the dojo. The floor was covered in tatami matting.

Wufei took a deep breath and centred himself in the room before beginning a simple form. Middle block...flash of a field of flowers...punch, snapkick...Meiran dying in that same breezy field, saying she'd never looked at the flowers in quite that way before...punch...his colony blossoming into a giant flower of fire... speed up to make the images stop...a single bloodred rose petal suspended in space after the explosion of Tallgeese in the final battle of the Eve Wars...block....the solitary rose pinned to Relena's suit as she makes a final plea for peace as Heero takes out the bunker Mariemeia's forces have commandeered...recurring images of flowers during the worst moments of the wars.

"I'm obviously not working hard enough," Wufei thought to himself before launching into a fast difficult form in an effort to make the flow of images stop. But the faster and harder he moved, the more it felt like he was fighting against a real opponent. As he spun, launching punch after kick, he began to see a phantom image of a soldier just out of his reach. The harder he tried to land a blow on the insubstantial figure, the better it got at dodging his attempts. Tornado kick, knife hand strike, roundhouse kick, back kick.... he just couldn't land a hit on his opponent. Roaring with frustration, he tried one final attack and finally saw his fist land, his phantom opponent resolving into the well-known features of Treize Khushrenada.

Wufei blinked rapidly, startled at the image of the dead OZ leader, only to find that what his fist had actually connected with was the wall of the dojo, and there was now a rather substantial hole in the plasterboard. The others, roused by the loud yell followed by the wall breaking had come to investigate. Heero was naturally the first on the scene, dressed only in boxers and trailed by a rather rumpled looking Duo, hair sticking out in all directions and pillow creases on his face. Both had been asleep when Wufei put his fist through the wall.

"What's up, Fei Fei?" Duo asked, rubbing at his eyes. "I had just managed to actually fall asleep when I heard you yell. I thought we were being attacked, Heero even had his gun out."

"Nothing's 'up', as you put it, Duo. And my name is Wufei, not Fei Fei. Why were you sleeping with Heero anyways?"

Duo blushed bright red. "I wasn't sleeping with Heero. I just get nightmares sometimes, and it helps to have another person in the same bed."

"Uh, Duo, that is sleeping with someone," pointed out Quatre who had walked in with Trowa as Wufei asked about Duo's sleeping habits.

"But the way he said it made it sound perverted!" protested Duo, trying to save some kind of dignity.

"No it didn't, Duo," interjected Heero.

"Fine then, be that way," Duo pouted. "But I wouldn't have had to get up at all if Fei hadn't put his fist through the wall." All attention returned to Wufei, who to his embarrassment was in the same position as when they had walked in. To make matters worse, when he tried to remove it, it proved to be stuck. Heero finally had to pull away the plasterboard around it so his fist could be freed.

"So what was bothering you enough that you punched the wall?" asked Quatre gently once the group had moved into the living room.

"It was nothing."

"If it was nothing, we wouldn't have to fix the wall tomorrow," said Trowa dryly.

Even Wufei had to concede that he had a point. "I was working on my forms when I started remembering what happened to Meiran and my colony. I sped up and wound up seeing a phantom figure in front of me. It kept dodging all my attempts to hit it, but when I finally did land a blow, it turned out to be Treize. That's when I realized I had hit the wall instead."

"Ummm, Wu-man, are you sure you aren't on some kind of hallucinogenic drugs?" asked Duo skeptically.

Wufei was about to launch into a rant when Heero interrupted him. "He may have actually seen Treize, Duo."

"What?" asked Wufei.

"Well, we know that we're angels and we have powers, right? I'm only supposed to be telepathic and telekinetic, but I have a bit of the Sight anyways. Maybe the rest of you have additional abilities as well."

"Meaning that Wufei might be able to see spirits," finished Quatre.

"Right," agreed Heero. "We're really going to have to work on these abilities to see what we can do, and develop them so they can be used."

"Let's do that in the morning," said Duo, yawning widely. The others agreed and walked off, leaving Wufei in the living room to contemplate what he had seen.

_"Is Heero right? Can I see spirits? In that case, why would I see Treize. Does he want to have one last fight with me, or does he want to tell me something..."_

A.N. - (1) Watou - a version of the Japanese katana adapted by the Chinese after they proved to be very effective in battle. I know everyone calls the sword Wufei carries around a katana, but that's Japanese and he's Chinese. So I found the Chinese term.

**Mystical-Maiden** - Thank you very much for reading and reviewing.

**shinigami88220** - That's awhile before you can leave. Sucks to be you. (Joking) I listen to just about everything except for country and most rap. Lately though I've been getting into more industrial music. That's all they play at the bar I go to.

**scotty-lass** - No! Not more blushing! Sorry about taking so long to update! Yup, Heero and Duo make a very cute couple.

**darkinuyasha** - Is Hiei the one who's also a dog-demon?

**Windy River** - Sorry I didn't fulfill your wish. Next chapter will be soon.

**Griffen** - I'm glad I managed to get it right. I have a copy of Episode Zero, but it's at home and not in rez, so it's hard to use as reference material.

**Miss-Elina** - I'm very glad you like my story. I hope you continue to enjoy it in the future.

**Death Phoenix** - Glad you like the story. Sorry about the updates.

**Depressed Gothic Raven** - Glad you like it.

**priscel** -Relena is a twit. She will get better though. She's growing up. Umm, yessss, they got together at the Maguanac celebration (please don't tell anyone about the plot holes....) I'm planning on reediting this whole story once it's complete and fixing up those omissions and a lot of other stuff. Flames are very pretty disturbing grin Glad you like the story! Keep reading and reviewing!

**_The Chaotic Ones_**

**Chaos** - Who wouldn't like blades? Personally I like them better than guns. They're prettier and take more skill. Crickets can be very annoying. Especially if they're meant to be lizard food and escape in your basement. Happy cricket hunting!

**Jef** - Evil user name! (Although that seems to be the point) You're now on my author update list, so if you ever add anything to that story I'll get notified.

**Aaries** - No, you're spelling crickets right. Thank you for restraining them. I needed Wufei for this chapter. Sorry about the slow update.

**Angel** - No, I don't think you'd be that bad of a lover. It just seems that you'd get a little...overenthusiastic. And there's only so many scratches I can explain away. Don't even get me started on the love bites and hickeys.

**Zeno the Stoic** - Thanks. I'll try.

**DaughterofDeath** - Sorry this chapter took awhile to add.


	20. Empaths and Mercenaries

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and these disclaimers are starting to depress me.

A.N. - Umm, sorry I didn't get this chapter up when I promised. My Grandma died this week though, so it's been kind of stressful. Combined with a decided lack of inspiration, it made it difficult to put up a new chapter.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Well, we know that we're angels and we have powers, right? I'm only supposed to be telepathic and telekinetic, but I have a bit of the Sight anyways. Maybe the rest of you have additional abilities as well."

"Meaning that Wufei might be able to see spirits," finished Quatre.

"Right," agreed Heero. "We're really going to have to work on these abilities to see what we can do, and develop them so they can be used."

"Let's do that in the morning," said Duo, yawning widely. The others agreed and walked off, leaving Wufei in the living room to contemplate what he had seen.

"Is Heero right? Can I see spirits? In that case, why would I see Treize. Does he want to have one last fight with me, or does he want to tell me something..."

* * *

Chapter 20:

Quatre and Trowa walked back to their rooms together, Quatre shaking his head at what they'd just been told.

"I wonder what kind of abilities we're going to develop now?" he wondered out loud when they reached his rooms. The two sat down on the large couch just inside the door. "We don't even know how to use the ones we already have as well as we should."

"I don't know, Quatre," replied Trowa quietly. Although the tall pilot had become more open and vocal lately, he still found it hard to overcome his instinct to withdraw into himself. Being in such an unusual situation with the other pilots had helped, growing closer to them as not even the war had managed to bring them. Besides, it was getting increasingly difficult to have real secrets from the other four, Quatre and Heero in particular. He would never have guessed that the cold Japanese pilot would be so insightful into feelings, aside from his telepathy.

"Aren't you curious as to what new abilities you'll develop?"

"Somewhat. Mostly I would like to see how much my ability with animals improves. I'm more curious about the abilities you and the rest have. We've always known about your empathy to some extent, but it will be interesting to see if you can gain control over when you use it."

"I never thought about that," Quatre said excitedly. He chattered away for several minutes on the good he could do if he could consistently tell how someone was feeling at any given moment. Personally, Trowa thought he would have to develop a better understanding of the different situations people came from before he could comprehend their feelings and predict their reactions fully.

_"Quatre means well, and he's certainly sympathetic to everyone. But someone from his wealthy family background can't fully understand what Duo, Heero, and I went through growing up. He doesn't know the extremes hunger can drive a person to. I've noticed the look of utter shock that comes into his eyes when Duo offhandedly comments on the lack of fresh water on L2, or when Heero says he learned to ignore hunger because he and Odin would sometimes go without food for a few days. I've seen the quickly masked revulsion on his face when he sees the scars that line my back from when I was with the mercenaries._

_"Quatre can understand those from privileged or even ordinary backgrounds, but the feelings of those who've had to survive on the streets he will never understand until he opens his eyes. He needs to accept what happens on the streets as a fact of life."_ Quatre shifted uncomfortably under Trowa's absent scrutiny, sensing some of the underlying feelings.

"What's wrong, Trowa?" For once, Trowa decided to speak his thoughts. Maybe that would help Quatre before he got broken on walls he didn't even know were there.

"It would be great if you could sense people's emotions when you wanted to, but you're also going to need to be able to understand the reasons behind those emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"You try your best, but because of your upbringing, you don't understand what Duo, Heero, and I went through when we were growing up." Trowa saw the short blonde start to bristle at what he thought was an implied condemnation, and hurried to correct his misinterpretation. "I'm not trying to insult you, just stating a fact."

"What about Wufei then? Isn't he an orphan too?"

"So are you, now. That's not what I meant though. You and Wufei come from rich families. The rest of us were raised on the street. We don't even know who our parents are. We've had to do some questionable things in order to survive, and you can't understand no matter how hard you try because you've never been in the same position. Have you ever noticed some flashes of resentment from Duo?"

"Yeah..." Quatre replied hesitantly. "I've always wondered why."

"What were you talking about when you felt that?"

"I think I had mentioned how my father had me created in a test tube because he wanted an heir, and how it made me feel like I could easily be replaced. I didn't understand how anyone could be jealous of that."

"He was jealous because you were wanted. For whatever reason, your father _chose_ for you to be born, while Duo was most likely abandoned on the streets by his parents. He resents the fact that you complain about having a father who cared about your existence....I feel the same way sometimes, and I'm sure Heero does too."

"I've noticed Heero looking at me wistfully sometimes lately when I talk about my childhood..." Quatre said after a moment's pause. He was clearly waiting for Trowa to explain that too.

"That's because he didn't have a childhood. You've heard him talk about Odin, how he was treated like a very small adult."

"Oh. Why is it that you understand emotions better than I do, when I'm the empath?"

"You need to experience the world more. I'm silent most of the time, but I watch people. I see how they interact, and the reasons why something happens the way it does. I'm no expert though. If you want to talk to someone who clearly understands emotions and motives, talk to Heero. He's better at seeing those kind of things than anyone else I know. He's very good at reading people."

"Heero understands people and their emotions?"

"I know he used to act emotionally dead, but really it makes perfect sense. He was raised as an assassin before J got a hold of him, and assassins have to be good at reading their targets. He's also a careful observer, and notices things most other people miss or write off. Why else do you think he was the first person to figure us out?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I will talk to him then. You mentioned that you resented the fact I talked badly about my father. What did you go through with the mercenaries that made you feel that way? You talked about Duo and Heero's pasts, but didn't say anything about your own." Trowa silently cursed Quatre's observation. He hadn't guessed as much as he could have, but it was enough.

"The mercenaries weren't any better with children than the assassin Heero grew up with. They didn't start training me with weapons quite as early as him, but I was still expected to earn my way in the camp. They found me when I was four, and at first I spent most of my time with the cook as his assistant. Then they had me start helping the mechanics repair the mobile suits. A number of places on the suits were so isolated it was easier to have someone of my size do the work. Otherwise they would have to disassemble a larger portion of the suit in order to reach the area." Quatre was nodding in agreement, having experienced the same thing when working on his Gundam, although he was still small enough to make most repairs easily.

"I've noticed you looking at the scars on my lower back sometimes. Those are from falling into a cavity in a mobile suit when I was about seven. I landed on some sharp edges of twisted metal left there from a badly patched area that had been damaged in battle. The mechanics had to remove a large portion of circuitry and hydraulics before they could get me out, and by then I was badly injured.

"When I healed, they had me start weapons training. The commander stated that if I could handle myself so well when injured, it meant it was time I start lending a hand in battle. My first battle happened a few months later. The mercenaries began to respect me more as I began to do well in mobile suit battle and started treating me as an equal. Then when I was fourteen, the mercenary company I was with was destroyed. Some of them had joined the Alliance and killed the rest. After that, I headed into space and wound up working as a mechanic on the Heavyarms project. When the real Trowa Barton was killed, I took his name and his place in Operation Meteor."

"What about the burn scar?"

"I don't know. Catherine thinks it's the proof I'm her younger brother, who she lost one day in an attack by the military. I've had it all my life though."

"So the mercenaries were kind to you?"

"As kind as they knew how to be. They never abused me, but they didn't go out of their way to be nice. Most of them just treated me with indifference until I became a good soldier." He could see Quatre struggling to wrap his head around that kind of life, and was glad he had glossed over the details. The blond wasn't ready for those quite yet.

"It doesn't matter anymore though," Trowa continued. "The past is the past and is no longer relevant." He slipped off to his room soon after, leaving Quatre to think about what he had said. The other pilot resolved to ask Heero for his thoughts on the matter the next day, before heading to bed himself.

**scotty-lass** - Thank you. I'm glad I left you wondering what's going to happen, after all that's what writers are supposed to do. (And it's intrigued, for future reference.) As for the martial arts part, well I skipped over some of what I was originally planning to write, but thank you.

**Windy River** - :-P

**DaughterofDeath** - Any other comments?

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**AngelJef **- NO STEALING WUFEI! I need him for this fic. You wouldn't like it if I couldn't write him anymore because you'd stolen him, would you?

**Aaries** - Thank you for holding them back. I think I'm going to need to set up barriers around my fic so that they can look and not touch. Woohoo, no more noisy crickets to distract me! Chaos will have to talk to me about blades later. First she needs to give back the other characters.

**Chaos** - What the hell are you doing, kidnapping Zechs and Relena? As if the Wufei lovers weren't enough. Sheesh, what is a poor authoress to do when her readers kidnap all the characters?

**PR** - Did you eat too much Halloween candy or something? You sound like you're on a sugar high.

**darkinuyasha** - Sorry if I offended. I've never seen Yu Yu Hashuko, but from what I've heard of it there's a half-dog demon in it somewhere. It was just a guess.

**Mystical-Maiden** - Hooray for foreshadowing! Can you guess what's going to happen though?

**bellashade** - I don't know how many powers the pilots will end up with. That depends on what the voices in my head tell me to write. Lol. You actually did a happy dance? That's great.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Yeah, Wufei has some cool powers. There will be more upcoming, and yes, there will be a conversation with a ghost at some point. Out of it? Lack of sleep or chemically induced? (Just kidding)

**Kiyoteh Kiaira** - I must say, you're one of the most...enthusiastic reviewers I've had. Most people don't write all in capitals.

**Zeno the Stoic** - Thank you for the compliment and the candy. Keep reading!


	21. Understanding the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

A.N. - I'm soooo sorry that's it's been so long since I last updated. My laptop has been broken for the past two months or so, and my story's on it, so I couldn't write anything. I have sent out an email about the update to all the reviewers I have addresses for, but if I missed anyone I apologize. Please keep reading. Barring any other unforseen computer problems, I plan to be consistent with updates again.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"It doesn't matter anymore though," Trowa continued. "The past is the past and is no longer relevant." He slipped off to his room soon after, leaving Quatre to think about what he had said. The other pilot resolved to ask Heero for his thoughts on the matter the next day, before heading to bed himself.

* * *

Chapter 21:

The next morning found all the pilots gathered around the breakfast table. Duo had bags under his eyes and was impatiently waiting for the coffee to brew. Heero looked a bit tired as well, and from that Quatre guessed that Duo had been up with nightmares. Trowa was his usual taciturn self, and Wufei looked a bit confused. He was obviously remembering his encounter with Treize the previous night. The five ate in silence until Heero finished his toast and began to speak.

"Does anyone know if we have building supplies? We're going to need to repair that hole in the wall."

Wufei grumbled under his breath about stupid ghosts who showed up to disturb his training for no reason. Duo had opened his mouth, probably to tease Wufei, when Trowa spoke.

"I don't think we have anything." Heero grunted.

"I'll go out and get what we need then. It wouldn't hurt to get a supply of tools anyways." Quatre saw his chance to speak with Heero privately.

"I'll go with you," he said quickly. Heero raised his eyebrow, turning to look at Quatre in slight surprise, but didn't object. "When were you planning on going?"

"The hardware store probably won't open until 9. I'll go then."

"Alright." The group broke up as they finished breakfast, leaving behind Duo who was on dish duty that day.

"Are you planning on talking to Heero like I suggested last night?" asked Trowa when he and Quatre were alone.

"Yeah," the blond replied. "But it probably wouldn't hurt to learn something about tools that doesn't apply to fixing a Gundam." Trowa nodded in agreement, and sat down with a book he was in the process of reading. Quatre absently flipped through a magazine on business until it was time to leave with Heero.

Now that he actually had the chance to ask Heero some questions in private, Quatre found himself suddenly, unaccountably nervous.

_"Why am I so worried about this? Heero and I have never been that close, but he's never minded answering any of my questions fully and honestly before. Maybe it's because I want to ask him something a bit more personal..." _Quatre would have continued arguing with himself for longer, but the Japanese pilot's deep voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Quatre?" he asked. Quatre could only gape in his best impression of a goldfish. Heero sighed and continued when it looked like he wasn't going to get a response. "You'd never volunteer to come with me to the hardware store if you didn't want to ask me something privately." Quatre's mouth only opened wider. He hadn't expected the Japanese pilot to be so perceptive.

_"I shouldn't be so surprised. This is what Trowa was talking about, last night."_ He managed to close his mouth before formulating a response. "Trowa told me last night that it's not enough to feel people's emotions, I have to understand the reasons for them as well."

Heero raised an eyebrow, clearly saying, 'and'?

"He also told me that you would be the best person to talk to about that. That I need to understand people's pasts in order to understand their emotions."

"What exactly what do you want to know then?" Quatre heaved a silent sigh of relief that the other was willing to answer his questions. Heero obviously noticed it, but chose not to comment.

"Well, firstly, I was wondering why you sometimes look wistful when I talk about my childhood. Trowa said it was because you didn't have one."

"Trowa was right. My first memories are of Odin training me to be an assassin, and my first 'toy' was a gun. I hear you talk about your childhood memories and I wonder what it would have been like, to be a kid." Heero shrugged self-consciously.

Quatre paused at that, then suddenly asked, "are you jealous of my father wanting me?"

"Not really. I was at first, but then I thought about it. Odin wanted me to some extent, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered taking care of me. And I know he valued me, as a cover, and maybe something more. If he hadn't cared at all, he certainly wouldn't have taught me how to look after myself. I know Duo envies your life though. You complain about being born in a test tube sometimes, but look at the family you were born into. His parents probably abandoned him on the streets to die; but yours put a great deal of effort, and probably money, into creating you. I know you don't value money very highly, but it means a lot when you've never had any."

"Oh. What do you know about Trowa's past?"

"Don't you think you'd be better off asking him that?"

"He told me the basics, but I have a feeling there's a lot more he's leaving out. Why would he do that?"

"Because he doesn't want you to pity him. He, Duo, and I don't talk about our pasts because we don't want pity."

"How does he know I'd pity him?" Heero gave Quatre a flat stare.

"It's what you do, Quatre." Quatre opened his mouth to object, but he was cut off. "You grew up in a lavish home, and a lavish lifestyle. We grew up on the streets. You pity us just for that, and we don't tell you any more because we don't want or need it. The past is the past, and nothing can change it. Our lives were hard, so we got harder. It doesn't bother us most of the time anymore, but pity just opens up old wounds."

"Is there anything specific that was hard about your past, Heero?" Heero shut his eyes briefly, and Quatre regretted asking. He was about to retract his question when Heero began to speak.

"Odin wasn't overtly cruel, but he was a hard taskmaster. He discouraged open displays of emotion, even if he acknowledged it wasn't good to cut them off completely. I was punished for any mistakes I made, and his favoured form of punishment was a cuff to the head. I was about 3 years old when he found me, so I cried at first when he hit me, or when I was hungry, but I quickly learned not to do that anymore."

"He hit you when you were 3?" Quatre's voice was full of shocked disbelief.

"See, you're pitying me, aren't you? It was all he knew how to do. Like I've said before, he didn't know how to raise a child, so he treated me like a rookie soldier under his command. He didn't hit very hard when I was that small, just enough to let me know that I'd done something wrong.

"It was worse when he started teaching me martial arts. I wound up very badly bruised, and occasionally with broken bones, but he never hurt me badly intentionally. It was more that he overestimated the force a child's body could withstand. When Odin died, I wandered the streets alone for a few months before I met Doctor J. I wasn't as good a thief as Duo, so I went hungry a lot. The only advantage I had was my assassin's training. I was able to defend myself from the gangs and rapists.

"When Doctor J took me in, I knew what I was getting into. He wasn't deliberately cruel either, but he was trying to train a human weapon, so there were a lot of painful things he felt were necessary." It was then that they pulled into the parking lot of the hardware store. They got out of the car and entered the store before Heero resumed his story.

"One of the things Doctor J felt was necessary was the ability to resist torture. You can't build up a resistance to it unless you experience it, so he did so as often as was necessary for me to be able to ignore pain. I also had to learn how to fight while badly injured, set my own bones, and sew my own wounds, since a soldier has to be completely self-sufficient. He basically set out to drive all the humanity out of me."

Quatre's face was horrified when Heero finished his narrative. He fell silent for awhile, silently trailing after the other pilot as he walked through the isles, selecting the necessary tools and supplies. He remained quiet until they had paid and were back in the car.

"I can't believe you went through all that. No wonder you're jealous of my childhood." Heero snuffed a laugh.

"And now you pity me because I told you some of the worst things about my past. Be glad I didn't tell you the exact worst moments. You'd probably have thrown up by now. But it wasn't all bad. There were some good times too. When you're in a situation like that, you have to take advantage of the good moments and try to forget about the bad ones. Just like anybody does. That's why I understand emotions so well. We're all the same in the end. But you have to accept that things like those in my past, or Duo's, or Trowa's, really do happen. You've chosen to ignore them in the past because you didn't want to accept that, but you'll never be a good empath until you do. Violence, hunger, and cruelty do exist, and they motivate quite a lot of people. Especially the kinds of people we're going to be fighting against in the future."

"You're right, Heero. I'll probably have to ask you quite a lot of questions about that in the future still, but I understand you, Duo and Trowa a bit better now. But if those weren't your worst moments, I don't think I ever want to hear about the real ones. Thank you for helping me to understand. Trowa was right, you were the right person to ask about this."

"You're welcome. If you want to fully understand though, you might want to go live on the street for awhile and see what it's really like. Don't go alone though. For all of your skills, you wouldn't last long on your own."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?"

"You just aren't ruthless enough. People on the streets are desperate, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Starving people don't have anything left to lose."

"How did you all manage then?"

"Trowa didn't, strictly speaking, live on the streets. The mercenaries were a kind of a buffer, and they valued him for his skills in combat, so they weren't going to damage that. Duo got very good at hiding and running away. He is also one of the best close in fighters I have ever seen. If he couldn't run, he beat them. As for me, living on the streets is the origin of my glare. I got very good at it, and it saved me more than once. Noone on the streets ever tries to look that threatening unless they can back up the threat, so more than once gangs simply left me alone. I never looked like a particularly easy target anyways. On the streets you are either predator or prey, and I moved like a predator. You, on the other hand, would be perceived as prey. Unless of course, you were _with_ a predator. Then noone bothers you unless they're desperate. That's why I said you shouldn't go alone."

"What differentiates predator from prey?"

"Attitude. Prey either skulks around, trying to hide, or looks at everything curiously. The first one says that you know you aren't strong and are trying to avoid notice, the second says that you're either new to the streets, or visiting. Predators walk like they own the place." He would have said more, but they had arrived back at home. Heero went to fix the wall, and Quatre wandered off to think about everything Heero had told him.

* * *

**bellashade** - I'm glad my chapter brightened your day. I like Quatre, but he seems awfully naive at times. It seemed appropriate to have him not fully understand the pasts of people like Heero, Trowa, and Duo. 

**Windy River** - I'm sorry it took so long!

**Mystical-Maiden** - Of course I'm not going to tell you what's going to happen! You're right, it would ruin the story, and besides, I don't know for sure myself. Treize just kind of wrote himself in there, like a lot of things seem to. I haven't actually planned out a plot for this story, so it goes in surprising directions sometimes.

Your friend sounds a lot like Duo. Is depressed but acts happy anyways. It just made a lot of sense to me that a spoiled rich kid like Quatre wouldn't understand the past of someone raised on the streets. I'm glad you like the bit about Trowa's past. I'm trying to develop the five pilots somewhat equally, and Trowa's always been one of my favourite characters.

**Death Phoenix** - Um...sorry?

_**The Chaotic Ones:**_

**Chaos** - Thanks for the return of Zechs. I'm going to need Relena back sooner or later. If you don't give her back, I may have to use something from my own collection of shiny silver objects. Hmmm, maybe I can threaten to cut out your heart with a spoon. (I live in rez where you aren't allowed to have anything even remotely dangerous. I'll show them, metal spoons can be sharpened.)

**Aaries** - Your muses are completely insane. More fun that way though. Sane people are boring. PR would be terrifying on a sugar high. I'd probably wind up going and hiding in the bomb shelter I've been constructing since I took so long to update if I saw that.

**PR** - Gee, I wonder why Aaries won't give you any candy. Why don't most people notice you? If you're naturally that hyper though, maybe we can figure out a way to use your energy to solve the impending power crisis.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Clean air is a good thing. Polluted air tends to give me headaches.

Strictly speaking, I don't really know anything about their pasts either. All I'm working from are assorted flashbacks and the Episode Zero manga. Which I have in English, so I'm not even sure if it's completely accurate in terms of translation. Gah, I can't wait until I learn to read kanji in Japanese class. I'm not telling why Wufei saw Treize though. If it is for training though, Wufei needs to learn to see walls. As for Quatre, Heero might eventually be able to make him understand. Either that or seeing the world for a few hundred years.

**Kiyoteh Kiaira** - Thank you very much for your sympathies. Sorry for not updating sooner.


	22. Gardening

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Don't bother suing me, you'll get nothing but lint.

A.N. - I meant to update sooner than this, but my life currently sucks. I won't go into details because I'm sure you don't want to hear me whine. As life gets better, I will be posting chapters with more regularity.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"What differentiates predator from prey?"

"Attitude. Prey either skulks around, trying to hide, or looks at everything curiously. The first one says that you know you aren't strong and are trying to avoid notice, the second says that you're either new to the streets, or visiting. Predators walk like they own the place." He would have said more, but they had arrived back at home. Heero went to fix the wall, and Quatre wandered off to think about everything Heero had told him.

* * *

Chapter 22:

Quatre found his feet had led him to the tiny garden out behind the pilot's house. They had a huge yard, but the majority of it had been reserved to train in. Thus, only a small corner had been left to plant flowers in. It looked like someone had been working on it though. It was set up in the traditional Asian style, with stone, running water, a few small trees, and a bridge. There was also a tiny bench. What flowers there were all were white and delicate looking.

Quatre decided it would be a good place for silent thought, and sat down on the bench, staring into the water contemplatively. The information he had gotten from Heero was whirling around in his head, and he needed time by himself to come to terms with all of it. He winced inwardly when he remembered the abuse Heero had gone through at the hands of his caretakers.

_"I can't believe how much of a brat I was, to have thought I had it bad because I was made in a test tube. Meeting the Maguanac put some of it into perspective for me, but after hearing what the others went through as children, it makes me realize how lucky I was. Father may not have always had time for me, but at least I knew he cared. Heero was right about me pitying them, and it's something I should work on if I want them to ever feel like they can confide in me. I don't want to be pitied either, so I can understand how they feel."_

He sat and let his thoughts drift for awhile longer. _"Maybe I should take Heero's suggestion and go live on the streets for awhile. Who would I ask to go with me though? He's right that I shouldn't go alone. After having him explain to me what it's like, it would be stupid to ignore his advice. Maybe he'd go with me? Him or Duo would be best, since they've actually lived on the streets."_

The feeling of a new presence in the garden brought him out of his daze. He looked up to find Wufei staring at him.

"Oh, hi Wufei. Is something the matter?"

"No. I was just not expecting to find anyone out here."

"Sorry. I just had to think over some things that Heero told me." A raised eyebrow from Wufei invited him to elaborate. "I took Trowa's suggestion to ask him for advice on a problem I've been having."

"Ah. I have also found Yuy's advice to be helpful. He is surprisingly insightful, for someone who acts the way he did during the wars."

"You're right. I asked him about understanding emotions, and he told me some very valuable things." Wufei nodded to show his understanding and then reached for the gardening tools he had brought with him. He turned first to one of the small trees, trimming off some browning ends.

"So you're the one who made the garden."

"Yes. I find gardening...soothing. It aids me when I have a troubled mind."

"Did you want me to leave?"

Wufei shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Quatre watched him for a few moments in silence before blurting out, "what was your childhood like?"

The silence between them stretched and Quatre became uncomfortable, shifting slightly on his seat as he waited for the other pilot to either answer or yell at him. Finally Wufei sighed and gave a minuscule shrug before answering.

"I had a normal childhood for one of my clan. I began to train in martial arts as soon as I could walk. I also was taught to read and write at an early age. My parents were very proud of me because I excelled at both martial arts and scholarly pursuits. They did not show a lot of affection, for displaying emotionwas consideredunseemly, but I knew they both cared about me. When I began boarding school at age eight, I got frequent letters from them, and on special occasions they would visit and take me somewhere new as a treat. When they died in a car accident, the clan elders took responsibility for raising me. I was to be clan leader when I came of age, so they took good care of me and made sure I had the best of everything. The only problem they ever had was that I did not like to fight, and always had my nose stuck in a book."

"Your childhood sounds a lot like mine, except I learned to manage a business instead of martial arts. Why can you relate to the other pilots so much better than I can?"

"Ah, so _this_ is what you asked Yuy about. I can understand them well because we were all raised as warriors. There is a different mind set required to be a warrior than there is to be a businessman. I was also taught about all the dirty things that go on in the underbelly of society, at least academically, while you chose to ignore them. Except of course, to make regular donations to charities for people like Duo, who despise charity. They see it as guilt money, paid so that all the rich businessmen who create people like him can feel guilt-free."

"You seem to have a similar outlook as him."

"For much the same reasons. My clan was a power in China until a rival clan managed to exile us to a broken-down colony in the L5 cluster. Duo's colony was a broken-down colony in the L2 cluster filled with the exiles of society. We both have reasons to feel bitter about the system that put us there and was prepared to discard us like pieces of trash."

"It looks like I have a long way to go in understanding the emotions of others. Thank you for sharing that with me, Wufei."

"You are welcome." He turned back to his gardening as Quatre stood up and walked away. Or at least he meant to go back to his gardening. He found himself instead staring blankly at his pruning shears with no memory of how long it had been since he started.

_"Damn Treize. If he is trying to talk to me, then he could at least have the decency to do so instead of appearing and disappearing for no reason. What could he possibly have to say to me anyways? He's been dead for over a year now. Does he want to challenge me because I killed him? I hope that doesn't mean that everyone I killed will come here. I feel no guilt for their deaths. It was war, and I did what was necessary."_ He stood and paced angrily back and forth. For all his anger though, he was careful not to trample the flowers which he had planted in memory of Meiran.

_"Meiran..."_ Just thinking of her brought a soft smile to Wufei's face. He had finally come to peace with her death after the Mariemeia fight, and though he still felt the pain of her loss, he no longer felt it was his fault she had died. He stopped pacing and turned to face the flowers he had planted to honour her, and nearly fainted in shock. There, kneeling beside the flowers, was Meiran. She was faint and insubstantial, but it was unmistakeably her.

"Meiran?" he whispered. She turned to him, smiling, and nodded. Her mouth moved as if she was speaking, but he was unable to hear the words.

"Why can't I hear you?"

Her mouth moved again, but he still couldn't hear. He was able to somewhat read her lips, well enough to partially understand.

"My ability isn't strong enough yet?" She nodded.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you again," she mouthed. "I never got to tell you that I accepted you as my husband."

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you."

"It wasn't your fault. I made my own choices. Thank you for honouring my memory and allowing me to fight alongside you."

"What do you mean?"

"When you renamed Shenlong Nataku, my spirit joined with your suit and I have been with you ever since."

"Thank you." She smiled and nodded again, before fading away. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he heard her voice saying, "I will be with you always," as she disappeared.

He stood silently for a long while before rubbing his eyes and realizing they were wet. He had been crying for her, in the way he could not when she had died. But for all that, he felt strangely peaceful.

_"She acknowledged me as her husband,"_ he thought to himself. The thought made him happy, and he bent back down to his gardening. _"I should put a memorial tablet for her in this garden. Maybe one for Treize too. I should invite the others to join me, to commemorate their special dead as well._

_"I guess Heero was right, and I really can see and speak with the dead. It seems they have to want to talk with me first though."_ The thought did not disturb him like it might have earlier however. _"I have nothing to fear from the dead. They cannot hurt the living unless we allow them to."_ Once he finished his gardening, he packed up his tools and left.

A.N. - I hope that it doesn't seem like I hate Quatre in this fic. I don't, but I do feel he's a little like Relena, had she become a soldier. He means well, but he's a little out of touch with the harshness of reality. Once he grows up a bit, he'll be an excellent empath.

**bellashade** - I'm glad Heero got through to Quatre too. I wasn't sure he would when I started writing the chapter. And you don't honestly think I'm going to tell you what's going to happen? That would ruin it. You're welcome for the email.

**Mystical-Maiden** - I hope I'm giving the guys realistic backgrounds. All I have to work off of is Endless Waltz and Episode Zero, since they don't tell you any of it in the series. My favourite characters in this series are actually Trowa, Duo and Heero. Not that I don't like the other pilots as well. I'm glad you love this story. It's always nice to hear that about your writing.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Thank you. I pulled the descriptions out of my ass, but I don't think they're too far off (hopefully). Oooh, a swamp. Sounds like fun.

**Clarobell** - Thank you, I'm glad you're still enjoying it.

**Lady-Frisselle** - I'm glad you like what I'm doing with Quatre. I had a discussion with a rabid Quatre fan recently, and she wasn't too happy about what I had to say about him. Duo is one of the candidates for the street visit, yes. I was thinking about Wufei having that kind of discussion, but he doesn't seem like he needs it as much. He doesn't look away from some of life's unpleasant details.

**Darkinuyasha -** Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately for me, that is how I think a lot of the time, so I left it where my thought ended. I will try to watch out for that in future.

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**Chaos **- The spoon quote is from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, I believe. Um, sorry about the lack of updates. Like I said, life sucks. I will do my best to get Relena away from you. It's about time she shows up again anyways.

**Aaries** - Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I don't think my parents would be very happy and we already have a dog, cat and iguana. If you want to draw me fanart, go ahead, but don't feel you have to or anything.

**PR **- Is this soon enough for an update? Please don't each chocolate covered coffee beans and attack me. If you maim me, I won't be able to write for a really long time.

**Jef **- I included Wufei in this chapter! And he will be popping up more as his ability continues to improve.

**Angel** - You can be the angel if you want, but unfortunately the angel is not scheduled to appear again, and I don't think you'd want to be a mere messenger angel anyways. And no stealing Wufei! If I'm going to use him in the story, he needs to be unexplainable-bruise-and-hickey-free. I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll fit in the story. You'd kinda stick out, what with being 7 feet tall and all.


	23. Dinner with the Queen

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters.

* * *

Last Chapter:

_"She acknowledged me as her husband,"_ he thought to himself. The thought made him happy, and he bent back down to his gardening. _"I should put a memorial tablet for her in this garden. Maybe one for Treize too. I should invite the others to join me, to commemorate their special dead as well._

_"I guess Heero was right, and I really can see and speak with the dead. It seems they have to want to talk with me first though."_ The thought did not disturb him like it might have earlier however. _"I have nothing to fear from the dead. They cannot hurt the living unless we allow them to."_

* * *

Chapter 23:

Heero was sitting in the living room reading a book when he heard someone start knocking on the door. He immediately drew his gun and walked quietly towards the door. Although he had discarded a lot of the mannerisms he had during the war, he had not dismissed the instinctive caution that came from surviving what he had. He cautiously peered through the peephole in the door, and heaved a relieved sigh when he saw Relena. Tucking his gun back into the waistband of his jeans, he unlocked the door to let her in.

"Hi, Heero," she said cheerfully, hoisting a pair of bulging grocery bags. "I came by to make you guys dinner. I figured it was time to drop by for a visit, since you haven't gotten around to inviting me yet." Heero relieved her of the grocery bags and ushered her into the kitchen while inwardly wondering when the former Queen of the World had learned how to cook, and whether they would regret allowing her to make them food.

"Where are your bodyguards?" he asked instead, knowing it was the expected question, but genuinely worried as well.

She giggled lightly. "I knew you'd ask that. I had Zechs drop me off. He waited to see I was inside before leaving. He thought I would be safe enough with the five of you pilots in the house. If I can't get a ride home from one of you, I'm supposed to call him again."

"That's good. So what were you planning to make for us? And do you need any help?"

"I brought miso soup, some things for a salad, steak, and pie. I hope you guys have a barbeque?" At Heero's nod, she continued. "If you wouldn't mind grilling the steaks, I can take care of everything else."

Heero was about to agree when Duo bounced into the kitchen.

"Hey, Heero, who are you talking to? Oh, hey, Lena," he said happily, grabbing her in a bear hug. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going to make you supper," she replied once he set her down.

"What can I do to help?" he asked immediately. Before she could reply, Wufei wandered into the kitchen. When he and Relena finished greeting each other, Quatre walked in, attracted by the noise, followed closely by Trowa. Soon Relena found herself sitting at the table, watching the pilots cook. Duo had taken over the job of grilling the steaks, Heero was making the miso soup, Wufei had the salad, and Trowa had put the pie in the oven to warm before going somewhere. Quatre was out in the dining room, carefully setting the table.

"You guys aren't supposed to be the ones cooking! I came over here to make dinner for you!" Relena protested.

"But we can't allow a guest to do all the work!" said Quatre, popping his head into the room. Duo shouted in his agreement from outside while the others just nodded. Trowa came back with a few bottles of wine and poured a glass for anyone who wanted one. Heero was the only one who turned it down, mindful that someone needed to stay completely alert.

The kitchen was filled with talk and laughter as they prepared dinner. The food was cooked soon enough, and they moved to the dining room. Dinner was a slow, lingering affair as they enjoyed the food and conversation. Funny stories from the war were dragged out, and there were a number of laughs at the expense of one or the other of the pilots. Relena confessed to standing on a cliff calling for Heero to come and kill her, and imitated the exact way she'd said it. The other pilots laughed while Heero fought a rising blush.

They moved to the sitting room with tea and apple pie, and the conversation shifted to the present. They discussed the way their new powers were manifesting, and possible secondary abilities for the pilots who hadn't shown any yet. Wufei brought up his visit with Meiran that day, and his idea of putting memorial tablets in the garden. Everyone thought it was a great idea, and noone noticed Heero's sudden silence in the midst of the animated discussion that followed. He found himself thinking of all the people he'd killed by accident, especially the little girl and General Noventa.

"So what kind of abilities do you think everyone will have, Heero?" he heard Relena ask. He dragged himself out of his painful memories to answer.

"It's difficult to say so far. Some of our abilities seem to be related to the personalities of the pilot who has them, and others are completely random. We'll just have to wait and see."

"I hope I can see through walls! That would be so cool!" enthused Duo.

"You'd probably see some things you wouldn't want to if you could see through walls," pointed out Trowa.

"Oh yeah, you're right," agreed Duo, making a disgusted face. "Hmm, maybe I'll be able to shoot laser beams out of my eyes."

"I think you've been reading too many comics," said Quatre. "I am curious about what further abilities I'll gain though. Maybe it'll be something to improve on my empathy."

"I wonder what powers other people we know would have," mused Duo.

"Relena would have the power to turn everything pink," said Heero, grinning wickedly.

"Hey!" Relena protested, but she was cut off by Duo.

"And the ability to find Heero, no matter where in the world he is," was his suggestion.

"The power to make people stop fighting," said Quatre, joining in on the teasing. Relena couldn't help but grin at the abilities they were suggesting, and decided to take part in the fun.

"Zechs has the power of perfect hair, no matter what he does," she added.

"And the ability to bring people back from the dead, because they didn't finish their duel," Trowa surprisingly suggested.

"When did that happen?" Wufei asked.

"After Heero self-destructed. He found him and challenged him to a rematch," he replied.

"The Heero-detector seems to run in the family," Quatre commented. The others considered this and burst out laughing at the idea of Zechs chasing Heero around the world, yelling 'duel me, Heero'.

The six of them had a fun evening suggesting random powers for each other and other people they knew. It was Duo's idea to make up super hero names for them all. Heero was 'Rubberman', Duo was 'the Shadow'. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were 'Jaguar', 'the Businessman', and 'the Warrior of Justice' respectively. Relena and Zechs were dubbed 'the Siblings of War and Peace'. Noin and Sally got named 'the Instructor' and 'the Onna' (Wufei's suggestion), and Une was 'Colonel Lady' in reference to her dual personalities during the war.

By the time the super hero naming was done, it was fairly late. Relena looked at her watch and regretfully excused herself.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go. I have an early meeting tomorrow. I had a lot of fun though, we should do this more often."

"You have to go so soon, Lena? That's too bad," complained Duo, getting up and giving her a warm hug goodbye.

"It was very nice to have you, Miss Relena," said Quatre. "Thank you very much for the dinner." He also hugged her goodbye. Trowa gave no verbal acknowledgement, but he nodded and to her surprise, pulled her into a quick hug. Wufei thanked her formally, and shook her hand. He had loosened up somewhat, but not enough to give anyone a hug.

She turned to Heero, expecting a hug and a goodbye from him as well, but he had already shrugged on his coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a ride home. Do you want to take my motorcycle or the car?"

She hesitated a few moments, unsure whether she should accept. Eventually she decided that it was Heero, and if he had minded, he wouldn't have offered.

"I'd love to try your motorcycle," she replied, grabbing her own coat and saying a last goodbye to the other pilots. Once outside, she slid onto the bike behind Heero and grabbed his waist tightly as he started it. He handed her a helmet, and took off as soon as she had it on her head. The twisting ride through the streets was a bit faster than she would have liked, but she was with Heero, and she'd trusted him through far more dangerous things than that. Once she got used to the speed, she found she enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her face. They pulled up to her house far too soon for her. Heero pulled her into a tight hug before giving her back into the care of her bodyguards.

"Thanks for dinner, little sister."

"Thanks for the lift, big brother." They both grinned at each other, and headed back to their respective homes.

* * *

**Mystical-Maiden** - Glad to hear you're still enjoying it. You know, writing this fic is really changing my opinions of some of the characters. I have to look deeper in order to understand them, so I can write them well. Wufei is one of those characters. I like him a lot better now that I have to see things from his point of view. Sure, he has some issues with women, but you're right, China is ultra-patriarchal. 

**Lady-Friselle** - Thank you for your suggestion. I may just do it that way, but I'd have to think of a reason to have Quatre go with Duo and Heero instead of his usual partner, Trowa.

**dk-joy** - I'm glad you like my fic. It must've taken you a while to read all in one day! There will definitely be more 1×2 in the future.

**darkinuyasha** - I apologize that it took so long, but I'm updating as fast as I can.

**Lord Aries Greymon** - Yeah, Predators may look at everything curiously, but somehow they do it differently. Don't mosquitoes suck?

**gaelan** - Thanks for your ideas. I'm glad you like the way I write Heero. I know some of the ways I have them talk are kind of awkward, I intend to fix that at some point. I'm not trying to be mean to Quatre, and I hope I'm not suggesting that he's weak, but I feel that he does have street toughness. I know a lot of people who are tough, but who wouldn't last five seconds in the slums. That's kind of the idea I'm trying to get across and I hope to develop in more in future chapters.

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**Angel** - Thank you for leaving Wufei alone long enough for me to write him in that chapter.

**Jef **- All I will say is 'maybe'. And teary eyes don't work on me.

**Aaries** - Well, this was as soon as I could write more. Thank you very much for restraining your muses. I will try and have the next part include more Wufei and Duo. It wouldn't have fit well in what I had planned for this chapter. Oh! Idea! You gave me an idea!

**Chaos** - Thanks for giving me back Relena for this chapter. She was a lot easier to work with than usual.

**PR** - Umm, maybe? Sorry, the idea of Kreatur and Dobby kind of disturbs me.

**shinotenshi(at)shine/com **- Thank you. Well, he is an angel boy in this fic too... (laughs) I know what you mean, I've had the same problem with other fics.


	24. Memorial for the Dead

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A.N. - Thanks to Aaries for giving me the idea for this chapter.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"I'd love to try your motorcycle," she replied, grabbing her own coat and saying a last goodbye to the other pilots. Once outside, she slid onto the bike behind Heero and grabbed his waist tightly as he started it. He handed her a helmet, and took off as soon as she had it on her head. The twisting ride through the streets was a bit faster than she would have liked, but she was with Heero, and she'd trusted him through far more dangerous things than that. Once she got used to the speed, she found she enjoyed the feeling of the wind in her face. They pulled up to her house far too soon for her. Heero pulled her into a tight hug before giving her back into the care of her bodyguards.

"Thanks for dinner, little sister."

"Thanks for the lift, big brother." They both grinned at each other, and headed back to their respective homes.

* * *

Chapter 24:

A few days after Relena was over, Duo found himself digging through the few treasured items he kept stored in his closet. Wufei's suggestion of making the garden out back a memorial garden had made him remember the memorial tablet he had to commemorate the people from the Maxwell Church.

He'd made it shortly after the church burned out of a relatively unharmed piece of wood he'd scavenged from its remains. It bore the names of all the orphans who'd been in the church at the time, along with Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. He had also added the names of his friends who'd died in the plague. It had survived the war unscathed because he'd left it with some Sweeper friends.

Just looking at it brought back memories of the destruction he'd arrived at and Sister Helen's final words. He hadn't seen her at first, there in the wreckage. He only realized she was there after she called out his name, calling his attention to her battered body. His eyes became misty as he got lost in the memories of that terrible day.

_"D... Duo... I'm glad... you're safe."_

_"Sister!"_

_"Don't make us worry like that. Father was... worried about you... even to the end..."_

_"I-I'll got get a doctor!"_

_"Th-the Alliance came... and attacked. But we... couldn't leave... the church."_

_"W-was it my fault! Because I stole that mobile suit from the Alliance?"_

_"F-father was so noble. H-he kept... preaching peace..."_

_"That's not noble! That's just **dumb**! What's the point if he's dead now!"_

_"Duo... M-may you... have God's blessing."_ Were her final words before she died. She never thought of herself, just of those under her care. Maybe if she hadn't been like that, she could have survived. She could have left the church before the Alliance attacked. Even now he wondered if it had been all his fault. She'd never answered him when he asked if the church had been attacked because he stole the mobile suit.

Intellectually, he knew it wasn't his fault. The Alliance couldn't have known that the little boy on the base that day was from the Maxwell Church. But that didn't dismiss the guilty feeling that he should have been there. That if he had been, he could have done something, even if it was only to die with them. At least now he knew _why_ he had survived the tragedies that had claimed the lives of those he cared about, both the plague and the attack on the church. He was an angel, and couldn't be allowed to die back then. It didn't make him feel any better about surviving, but now he didn't have to wonder anymore if he was cursed.

Thinking about being immortal gave him another good thought. Most of those he was closest with now were immortal as well. He'd finally found friends that would live as long as he did.

_"And possibly a lover,"_ a voice in the back of his head insisted on adding. He tried to block the thought out. He didn't even know if Heero was interested in guys, let alone interested in _him_. _"You could try and find out...,"_ the same voice insisted. He shook his head and stood abruptly, still holding tightly to his memorial tablet. Duo decided to go out and put it in the garden in an effort to distract his mind from naked Heero thoughts.

_"And just how did I go from thinking about the Church to thinking about how to get Heero naked?"_ he thought ruefully to himself. _"I guess the hormones of teenaged boys really do get out of control."_

He didn't see any of the other pilots on his way outside, but as he approached the garden, he noticed Wufei sitting cross-legged on the gravel path, meditating. The Chinese pilot looked up as he approached, so Duo decided to keep going rather than waiting for another time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't disturb you, did I?" he asked.

"No, I was just finishing. Did you need to speak to me about something?"

"No, I thought I'd take you up on your suggestion of making this a memorial garden." He held up the wooden tablet as proof of his statement. Surveying the garden looking for a good place to put it, he decided to ask. "Do you have any suggestions as to where I should put this?"

Wufei looked momentarily surprised at the question, but paused thoughtfully before answering. "What would the person you're remembering have liked?"

"There are rather a lot of people on this tablet, so I can't give a specific answer."

"Well then, what are your hopes for them?"

Duo paused for a moment to consider that. "I hope that they've found peace. Some of them had to work hard just to survive, and others tried their best to help others."

"Put it next to the water then. Water represents life and renewal. It sounds like that's what you wish for them, an afterlife of peace and a chance to not have to work so hard to survive."

Duo considered that for a moment before stepping forward and placing his tablet next to the tiny waterfall.

"That's exactly what I want for them. Thank you, Wufei." Wufei inclined his head in acknowledgement. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you remembering in this garden?"

"My clan, who destroyed our home colony and died in the process so I wouldn't have to surrender to save them. And," his voice faltered, "my wife, Meiran, who died fighting for justice."

"You were married?" Duo asked. He normally would have teased Wufei about being married so young, but now was not the time for that.

"I am the heir of my clan, and the two of us were engaged at birth. It was by no means a love match. We fought bitterly in the brief time we were married. She prided herself on fighting for justice, and I thought there was no such thing. It wasn't until after she died fighting to stop OZ from destroying our colony that I began to understand her. It was then that I decided to become a Gundam pilot and carry on her ideal of fighting for justice."

There was a long pause as Duo took that all in. It was the most he'd ever heard Wufei say about his past, but then, he didn't really speak about his much either. None of them did. Too many bad memories he guessed. But he figured that he should share the dead he was commemorating as well, to be fair.

"I became a pilot by accident really. I was in a gang of street rats until the plague hit the colony I lived on. Most of them died, but those of us who survived were soon rounded up and sent to a church. Everyone but me got adopted, but I didn't really mind after awhile. It meant I got to stay with Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. They took care of me until a bunch of rebels decided to hole up in the church after a battle with the Alliance. They hurt the Father and Sister Helen, so I left to steal them a mobile suit so they'd leave. When I got back, the church had been attacked and was in flames. Everyone died except for me.

"After that, I wound up sneaking onto a Sweeper ship, which is where I met Dr. G. He taught me to pilot, and told me to 'steal' Deathscythe instead of participating in Operation Meteor."

"I took Nataku too, after Master O told me the full plans for Operation M. I didn't want to be part of a scheme that called for the deaths of that many innocents. I foolishly thought that I could defeat the Alliance all by myself, back then."

"Heero told me that he chose not to participate in Operation M as well. Dr. J actually gave him the choice, as odd as that seems. I don't think Quatre ever heard about the real operation. If he had, I don't think Instructor H could have gotten him to go _near_ Sandrock. As for being able to defeat the Alliance by yourself, I think we all felt that way originally. We did come pretty close though. Five against the world isn't much better odds than one against the world."

"I suppose you're right. What does it say about the five of us though, that we were willing to take on those odds?"

"We're all completely insane, I think we've established that. Suicidally insane, some more than others." They both paused, remembering the horrible image of Heero self-destructing, _bouncing_ off the ground before becoming so terribly still. They both shuddered in unison.

"Only Yuy would be crazy enough to self-destruct while _inside_ his Gundam. But as much as I hate to admit it, you're right. We're all crazy."

"But a good kind of crazy, eh? After all, we won."

"Both times. I still do not understand why you all accepted me back so quickly, after what I tried to do."

"Probably because we all thought of doing the same thing, at one time or another. You were just confused, trying to figure out your place in the world."

"Thank you." Duo raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't ask what Wufei was grateful for. He had a feeling he knew. They had all found where they belonged, with Heero's announcement that they were angels. Everything they'd done had been leading up to that moment, and finally hearing that they were meant to be a team all along had just cemented the vague feelings they'd all been having since they met.

"Enough of this introspective shit. Feel up to sparring?" Duo asked. Wufei answered with a wolfish smile, and they moved into the grassy area of the yard to begin.

Fights between the two of them were always a study in opposites. Wufei was formally trained in a number of martial arts styles, while Duo was basically a street fighter who'd picked up what he knew about martial arts from anyone willing to teach him. Every time they sparred, each learned from the other and it was about an even chance who would win any given bout.

They traded blows smoothly, the majority blocked, but once in a while they landed one past the other's guard. Duo began to sweat, his black clothing absorbing the bright sunlight. Wufei had the advantage there, having removed his shirt earlier while meditating. His bare chest glistened with sweat as he dodged a kick from Duo. The other pilot spun quickly, his long braid swinging around him as he began a jumping spin kick. Wufei countered by dropping down and sweeping Duo's legs out from under him as he landed. Duo tucked smoothly into a roll to avoid the leg that would have hit him in the chest while he was down. The fight continued in that manner for awhile, neither gaining a real advantage over the other until Wufei decided to use one of the tricks he'd picked up from Duo and fight dirty. As the braided pilot spun to recover from a back kick, Wufei grabbed his braid and used it to pull him into a choke hold. Duo struggled, but he couldn't get out of it without seriously injuring Wufei, which he didn't want to do in a friendly match.

"Ok, ok, you win. Just let go of the hair, alright?" he conceded. As the Chinese pilot did so, he rubbed his abused scalp and muttered under his breath about cheaters. Wufei chose not to respond as he walked calmly towards the house, intending to have a shower.

He was thwarted in his intentions as the other pilot shot past him into the house, yelling, "you won by cheating. That means I get first shower!" Wufei sighed.

_"I guess I'll let him win. His hair takes a lot longer to wash than mine anyways. Just as long as he doesn't use up all the hot water."_ In the interim, he decided to go back to the garden and meditate some more. He needed to centre himself again after all he had discussed with Duo anyways.

A.N. - Duo's flashback about Sister Helen is taken directly from Episode Zero. I do not own it. And I made up the stuff about water being a symbol of life and renewal for the purpose of this fic. I don't know if it's accurate in any form of symbolism, so don't quote me on it.

**dk-joy** - I'm glad you liked that chapter. I can't wait to see what their abilities will be either, because I don't know yet. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to consider them.

**Mystical-Maiden** - Relena has always annoyed me as well, but she seems to have good intentions. She just doesn't go about them the best way, but she got better in Endless Waltz, so I figured she just needed to grow up a bit. I'm glad you like the way I'm writing her. It was nice when the pilots took over her dinner plans, cause I still don't know if she can cook. The names were hard to think up for everyone, so I was hoping I didn't make them too cheesy. Although I guess all superhero names are a bit cheesy.

**Clarobell** - I'm so glad that you like this fic that much. It's nice to hear that all of my chapters are so enjoyable. It's getting easier to write them because I'm getting used to the characters.

**Shinotenshi(at)shine/com** - I'm glad it entertained you. This soonish enough for you? (Sorry about the mangling of your name, but Fanfiction/net hates email addresses and domain names)

**Lady Frisselle** - I had fun writing the superhero powers bit, so it's nice to hear you had fun reading it.

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**Angel** - Sorry, the puppy dog eyes don't work, but here's more Wufei anyways!

**Aaries** - This whole chapter was the idea because you suggested more Wufei and Duo, and it just worked so perfectly with the whole memorial garden idea. The whole superhero thing came out of left field for me, but Duo was just the perfect person to suggest it.

**Jef** - Here's your Wufei meditating bit. There isn't a whole lot of it, because there's really not much you can say about it. _Wufei is meditating. He has his eyes closed. He's trying to not think about anything. His eyes are still closed. He is continuously thinking about nothing..._and so on. It wound up being more of a bookend thing, starting and ending his part in the chapter.

**Chaos** - Soon enough for you?

**PR** - Sorry, I can't understand you through the gag.


	25. Lady Une

Disclaimer: Me no own.

A.N. - I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, but I've been suffering from a severe lack of inspiration. You may be glad to hear that I used the time to start an outline of the plot, so hopefully the chapter after this won't be pulled out of thin air like the rest have been. It might also help me update faster, since I won't have to think so hard about what to write.

Also, does anyone know Lady Une's first name? I can't remember if I've ever heard it mentioned.

* * *

Last Chapter:

"Ok, ok, you win. Just let go of the hair, alright?" he conceded. As the Chinese pilot did so, he rubbed his abused scalp and muttered under his breath about cheaters. Wufei chose not to respond as he walked calmly towards the house, intending to have a shower.

He was thwarted in his intentions as the other pilot shot past him into the house, yelling, "you won by cheating. That means I get first shower!" Wufei sighed.

_"I guess I'll let him win. His hair takes a lot longer to wash than mine anyways. Just as long as he doesn't use up all the hot water."_ In the interim, he decided to go back to the garden and meditate some more. He needed to centre himself again after all he had discussed with Duo anyways.

* * *

Chapter 25:

By the end of the two weeks off, all five of the pilots were practically vibrating with nervous energy. They weren't used to having so much downtime, and weren't quite sure what to do with themselves. They had begun having impromptu sparring matches by the end of the first week, and as time went on the matches lasted longer and became bloodier. Fortunately their improved healing had begun to kick in or else they would have been too injured to go back to work. On top of the normal restlessness was the added frustration that they couldn't practice using most of their new powers in case the neighbours saw. Heero had already decided to ask Une for a special practice area for them when they went back to base.

All five of them were glad when their two weeks was up. When they arrived at the Preventers HQ, Une was there to greet them.

"Good work you five. We've learned in the past few weeks that you completely destroyed that particular group, and the data you brought us was enough to make vaccines for all the viruses before we destroyed them. Private Sugoff was the only person infected, and he has since made a full recovery. The only problem that cropped up from this action is that the government wanted to publicly acknowledge your unit." All five of the pilots showed surprise and worry at that, but Une continued before they could say anything.

"But we've since persuaded them that would be a bad idea. Aside from the fact you are immortal, having your faces televised would put you in danger on future undercover missions."

"Thank you, Commander," Heero answered for them all. "Do you have something specific to assign us?"

"The data you brought us, aside from giving information about the viruses, also contained names of people with links to that group. Your assignment is to research those names, and arrest those who pose a threat. I've put copies of the relevant files in your offices."

"Alright," agreed Heero. Turning to the rest of them, he said, "you guys go ahead. I'll be up in a minute." After they left, he turned back to Une and asked, "do you have a moment, Commander?"

"Of course. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I was wondering if the five of us could get our own private practice space. We need somewhere we can practice using our new powers without anyone seeing. Our dojo at home is too small, and if we practice in our backyard, our neighbours can see. It would be best if it were steel-lined as well, since one of Wufei's powers is the creation of fire."

"I think we have a perfect room in the basement. It used to be for testing mobile suit parts, now we just use it for storage. I'll have it cleared out and have a lock installed on the door. I'll let you five choose who you want to give the code to."

"Great."

"Was that all, Heero?"

"Yes. I'll go get started on that research now."

Une sighed as she watched him walk away. _"Those five are far too young to carry the heavy responsibilities they do. It's too bad you're not here, Treize, to watch them make the peace you dreamed of into a reality. You were right to believe in them. And somehow it's right, however hard it may be, for them to be made immortal to protect this peace they helped forge."_

Une had missed Treize everyday since he died. Although neither of them had ever publicly acknowledged the love she had for him, she'd never tried to conceal it either. Many of her more questionable actions during the war had come from her need to fulfill his ideals, without having a clear idea of what those actually were. She closed her eyes as she remembered threatening the pilots with the destruction of the colonies if they failed to surrender. At the time, she hadn't understood how someone could take their own life for their ideals, but the image of Heero's self-destruction had been forever ingrained into her memory. That was when she had begun to understand Treize's admiration for the pilots.

When Trowa had joined the Oz forces at Space Fortress Barge, she'd actually been almost sure that he was a Gundam pilot. She still didn't understand why she'd ignored that, aside from a feeling that it was the right thing to do. The quiet boy had grown on her the longer he was there, and she still felt that he understood her in a way that few people ever could. The same feeling that told her to let Trowa stay was also the reason for her allowing him and Heero to take the Mercurius and Vayate out by themselves. Her growing feeling that the Gundam pilots had been right all along finally resolved with the Romefeller Foundation's choice to imprison Treize and Tsubarov's attempt to kill Duo and Wufei. It was that which allowed her to carry out Treize's final order to surrender to the colonies and destroy all mobile suits after his death.

In spite of her love for Treize, she couldn't find it in herself to hate Wufei for his part in his death. He had known what he was risking in that battle, and had intended to die all along. Besides, if the pilots could forgive her for her actions against them, she could do no less.

It never ceased to amaze her the strange turns life took. The group that had done their best to kill each other during the Eve Wars were now as close as family. The little girl who had tried to take over the world wound up in the care of the woman in charge of the organization which protected it. She was glad to have Mariemeia though. Taking care of her was the one last thing she could do for Treize, and the girl deserved to have someone see her as something besides a pawn.

Une was brought out of her thoughts abruptly when she noticed Heero standing near her. She hadn't even noticed his return.

"Are you alright, Commander?" he asked, peering at her concernedly.

"I'm fine, Heero. Just got lost in my memories, that's all. Did you have something else you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Actually, I wanted to extend the invitation for you and Mariemeia to visit our house anytime you wanted. There are so few of us left who were in the thick of both wars, we should stick together, don't you think?"

Une almost took a step backwards, she was so startled. It was shocking how much Heero's words paralleled her own recent thoughts.

_"I wonder if that's part of his telepathy leaking out. Sometimes it surprises me that it's Quatre, and not Heero who's the empath."_

Out loud she said, "thank you, Heero. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm sure Mariemeia and I will take you up on that very soon."

Heero smiled. "You're welcome, Commander." He turned to leave, then turned back again. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm happy to listen. I'm sure Trowa would be too." With that, he walked away.

Une was left reeling again. Just when she thought she'd figured Heero out, he went and did something like that. The offer did sound appealing though, and she couldn't help feeling warm that just maybe, she'd found another person who understood her.

By the time Heero made his way to his team's offices, Zechs and Noin had arrived and begun helping. They had not made any real progress yet, instead sorting the folders into groups and setting up a system to record information and show links to different organizations.

"Good work you guys," Heero said once he assessed what they'd done so far. "Once this is finished, I suggest we link our computers together so we can share information. It should go much faster that way."

The others agreed, and they all sat down at their computers for a long day of looking through files. Questions were called back and forth, and their search progressed rapidly for work of that type. By the end of the day, they had connected several of the names to known terrorist groups, but thus far no pattern had emerged. When Heero announced they were done for the day, Duo stood and yawned loudly, cracking his back as he did so.

"Man, I'm not used to sitting and staring at a computer screen all day. Let's go home and get some food." He quickly grabbed the two people standing closest to him and dragged them out the door. The others followed, amused by Wufei's protests about being dragged down the hallway by Duo. Quatre remained silent, almost as tired and hungry as Duo. As they reached the parking garage, Noin and Zechs separated from the group of pilots, saying their goodbyes and quickly leaving in their own car.

Duo talked about food the entire way home, and after a quiet dinner, the five separated to do their own activities before heading to bed for the night. None of them said it, but they were all secretly glad that their first day back at the Preventers had been an uneventful one.

* * *

**dk-joy** - Thank you. I'm glad you're loving it, that's always nice to hear. 

**Mystical-Maiden** - Thank you very much for saying I'm good at 'this writing stuff'. I'm glad you like the garden idea. It seemed appropriate somehow. All this character development is because it would be a very long, boring story otherwise. They're immortal now, and it can't all be battles and explosions.

**Lady-Frisselle** - Thank you. I like it too that the pilots are getting to know each other better. I don't think they ever got that chance during the war.

**Windy River** - :P

**Deaths Fallen Angel** - I'm glad you love it. Duo and Heero will be getting together soon, since I've finally figured out how I'm going to make that happen. I haven't figured out yet who, if anyone, I'll pair Wufei with.

**_The Chaotic Ones:_**

**All **- Sorry, but this review is too interconnected to reply to you all individually. That last chapter was for you guys, with all the Duo and Wufei. Yes, you can write a sidefic if you really want to, but please include notice that it is a sidefic, possibly an AU, because this story looks like it will be continuing until at least 100 years in the future, so it may confuse people who start reading later. Japanese is so weird in the whole many ways to address family. I do speak some Japanese though, so don't worry about including it in your reviews. I'm glad my whole thing with the water bit made sense. I'm making up a lot of this stuff as I go along.

**scotty-lass** - I completely understand the snowed in by work thing. (Not that I am right now, but still.) I'm glad you're still enjoying this fic. I'd like to think that it's developing fairly well, even if it does stall sometimes.

**neuroticperoxideblonde** - Glad you like it. Sorry it wasn't updated faster.


	26. Practice makes you pass out?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. This fic is written for fun and lack of profit. If you try to sue, I'll get Heero and Duo to blow you up for me. (If only in my imagination)

A.N. - Sorry this chapter took so long! My laptop is being stupid again. It refused to turn on for a week, and then suddenly started working again. Now it's turning off every hour or so, and I need to get it fixed, but I'm low on funds. I'm also working on my costume for Anime North. I'm going to be dressing up as Kiba from Naruto. I'll be volunteering, so if any of you are going to AN, look for a volunteer dressed as Kiba and come say hi.

On the bright side, I compiled all my previous chapters together, and it's almost 85 pages long. Go me! It's looking like there will be at least another 85 pages more.  
I am definitely **NOT** going to be giving up writing this story, but instead of tearing my hair out trying to do a chapter every week or two, I will update whenever I can. This might mean two chapters in a week, or only one a month. I'm sorry if you'd like me to write faster, but between everything going on in my life right now, and lack of inspiration for these latest chapters, I'm working as fast as I can.

* * *

Last Chapter:

Duo talked about food the entire way home, and after a quiet dinner, the five separated to do their own activities before heading to bed for the night. None of them said it, but they were all secretly glad that their first day back at the Preventers had been an uneventful one.

* * *

Chapter 26:

The next week became routine for the pilots. They would go in, open their case files, and continue assembling a list of all the people tied to the group they had just destroyed, and their links to other terrorist organizations. An overall pattern had begun to emerge, but hadn't solidified yet. They could have done some arrests of minor criminals, but didn't want to take the chance of alerting the larger organization.

The first change came when Une notified them that the practice space Heero had requested was ready. They all followed her down, and exclaimed over the sheer size of the room. It took up almost an entire floor of the sub-basement, and had steel lined walls. Une had laid mats over in one half of it. New welds were evident in the steel flooring, where equipment had been removed and the holes filled in. The whole space had been polished mirror bright, then burnished so the light wouldn't blind those working inside.

"Here's your new practice area, guys," Une told them as they stared at the cavernous space. "If you need anything else in here, just let me know. It's important that you learn to use your new abilities."

"Thank you, Commander," they breathed in unison.

"You're welcome. The code on the door hasn't been set yet, so feel free to program it yourselves. This space is off-limits to everyone but your unit and whoever you let in. Now, if you don't need anything, I have a meeting to prepare for." She left quickly once she was sure they didn't need her for anything.

The pilots spent the next while exploring the area before Heero called them back to order.

"Now that we have an area to practice in, we should make the most of it. This is the perfect place to practice our flashier abilities. We should try and train here an hour or two a day. Noin and Zechs, and Sally when she gets back, you should use this place too. Practice hand to hand combat. I suppose we could get a small target range and a mobile suit simulator as well, if anyone's interested.

"Go ahead and get started, everyone. Trowa, if I could talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Heero." They moved to the side as the others spread out.

"I wanted to ask you, what do you want to do about your power? I'm sure we could get some animals in here, if you wanted."

"I'll think about it. I don't know if I would want to keep any animal down here. It's a big room, but it's still underground. I would prefer to get a few pets back at the house, but I'll talk to everyone about that tonight."

"Alright, you might as well join in with anyone who's sparring for now then." When Trowa walked off, Heero situated himself in a quiet corner and sat down to meditate. He wanted to see if he could gain any control over his Sight, so that it would become a useful tool.

In another area of the room, Wufei was trying to remember exactly how he'd created fire the first time. The memory was elusive, there had been so much going on that it was proving difficult to isolate that one feeling. Then suddenly, it clicked. He remembered how frustrated he'd been with Heero's insistence that he could create fire in his hand, and was getting very angry with the stupid guards who insisted on shooting at him. He'd drawn on that frustration and anger, and channelled in into something useful. That was when he'd created the fire. He tried to duplicate those feelings, and was pleased to discover that he had again managed to create a flame in his hand. It was small and wavering, but it was there. Wufei looked down, expecting to see his hand blistering from the heat, and was surprised to find his hand undamaged. Once he thought about it though, he realized that he felt only a pleasant warmth, rather than the searing heat you would expect from holding fire in your hand.

Heero could sense Wufei's surprise from across the room._ /It wouldn't make much sense for you to be hurt by the fire you created, would it/ _Heero commented telepathically, amused.

_/You could have warned me/_ retorted the Chinese pilot.

_/You should have been able to figure it out for yourself/_ replied Heero._ /You're using anger to create the fire, aren't you/_

_/Yes. Why/_

_/I think that any strong emotion would work, it doesn't have to be anger./_

_/I'll try that/_ was the reply. After some further experimentation, Wufei found that Heero was right. He could use any emotion to create the flame. More lasting ones, like pride, would also make the flame last longer. Once created, the fire was easy to enlarge. About an hour after he began, Wufei noticed that he was getting exhausted. Then, suddenly, the fire in his hand guttered out and his legs refused to support him. He fell loudly to the floor, drawing the attention of all the other pilots.

Quatre was the first to reach him. "What's wrong, Wufei?" he asked anxiously. "Are you hurt?"

"Just tired," Wufei gasped, more out of breath that he would have been after running for an hour.

"Was it your powers that tired you out?" was Trowa's question.

"I think so," Wufei managed to mutter before slipping out of consciousness.

A.N. - I know this chapter was very short and not that great. Sorry. I've got great ideas about future chapters, but there's some things I have to have happen before they get there. Just be patient with me, chapters will start picking up again soon.

**Clarobell** - Well, Heero and Duo are going to be getting together, and Trowa and Quatre already are (even if I haven't written much of it yet) I have yet to decide about Wufei, but I think he will remain unpaired for awhile yet. He has to resolve past issues first.

**ravel queen** - Thank you. I'm glad you like the way I'm handling Heero in this story. I've had the same problems with stories in the past, either Heero's abusive or a sobbing wreck. Hopefully I'll be giving him a bit more balance. Don't worry, Heero will have a chance to talk about his problems soon enough.

**dk-joy** - I like Une as a character, but she never seems to have much depth. It was fun writing that chapter and giving her an identity of her own.

**Lady-Friselle** - Nice to hear you're still enjoying it. Although as for the message, that would be telling! I can't tell you what's going to happen!

**shinotenshi(at)shine/com** - Lol. Who wouldn't be a sweetie once they let go of the 'I want to kill you attitude'? I've always felt that there was more to Heero than the icy front, and I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

**Lady Jeanne** - Thanks. I guess I'll have to make up my own first name for Lady Une then.

**Mystical-Maiden** - I never get tired of people telling me they like my story, so don't worry about sounding repetitive. Thanks for the continual reviews.

**Windy River** - Oops, not very soon.

**Alara Moonrunner** - Sorry, but the last part of your email address got cut off.

**The Chaotic Ones** - Go ahead and talk to me individually, just be aware that I might have to reply to you as a group. I don't know how far into the future this fic will go, so when you write your sidefic, just let people know that it may not chime with the plot at that point in my fic. Oh, and Midi Une is a different person. She's about the same age as the pilots, while Lady Une is definitely older.

**Black deoxes** - I will definitely be finishing this fic, although it'll take awhile because of the premise behind it.

**ForeverRead** - I'm glad you like my idea for this story. Keep reading!


	27. Ghosts of the Past

Disclaimer: Me no own.

A.N. - Umm, yeah. Here's another chapter. Finally. bashes laptop with sledgehammer Dammit! I want lightning to fry my laptop so the insurance company has to buy me a new one! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I was having a number of problems, computer and massive writer's block among them. I will try and begin updating on a more regular basis again, and thanks to all of you for sticking with me.

* * *

Last Chapter: 

"Just tired," Wufei gasped, more out of breath that he would have been after running for an hour.

"Was it your powers that tired you out?" was Trowa's question.

"I think so," Wufei managed to mutter before slipping out of consciousness.

* * *

Chapter 27: 

He surfaced briefly to find himself being carried gently in muscular arms. He felt the jolt of footsteps, then they stopped and he was shifted to leave one of the hands of whoever was carrying him free. Wufei must have tensed instinctively, because he heard the other chuckle.

"Just relax, Wufei," came Trowa's gentle baritone.

"Where're we going?" he managed to mumble sleepily.

"I'm taking you home. Sally's still on vacation, and none of the other base doctors know about our powers. Heero thought you'd be fine after some rest anyways, and I volunteered to take you because I have no animals to practice my powers with."

"M'kay," muttered Wufei as Trowa gently seated him in the passenger seat of the car. The door slammed, then he heard the door on the other side open as Trowa got in. The hum of the motor and the consistent movement of the car lulled Wufei back to sleep, as Trowa drove back to the pilots' home, on the outskirts of town.

He only stirred briefly as the car stopped and he felt himself lifted gently and carried inside. The Chinese pilot was almost completely asleep again as he was tucked into bed.

"Thanks, Tro," he muttered before rolling over and again losing consciousness.

When he woke up a few hours later, it was to the soft sound of a flute. He went downstairs to what they had dubbed the 'music room', although it doubled as a library, to find Trowa curled up in a chair playing his flute. He stood in the doorway silently listening to the music until the song ended.

"That was beautiful," he said quietly, stepping into the room. Trowa quickly looked up, almost pulling his gun before he realized that it was Wufei.

"Thank you. I hope I didn't wake you though."

"No, I noticed the music after I woke up. What was that song called?"

"I don't know. I heard it once when I was staying with the mercenaries, and figured out how to play it on my own. It's probably not exactly the same as the original though, since I only heard it once. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Thank you. Rest seems to have been all I needed," replied Wufei curtly, embarrassed to have passed out.

"You're welcome. There wasn't really anything I could do there that I couldn't do here anyways. So do you think it happened because you used your powers too much?"

"Probably. What did Heero say?"

"He said it's probably like exercising your muscles, your body can only take so much of it at first, but as you continue you can use them for longer."

"That sounds reasonable. What are you going to do about your powers? You need animals, don't you?"

"Yes, I was going to talk to all of you later tonight about that. I would like to have a few animals around the house for that. It seems cruel to keep them in the training room, it's too confined and it's underground." As he talked, Trowa disassembled his flute, put it away, and gestured Wufei into the kitchen. Wufei took a seat at the table and Trowa put on the kettle to boil. He took a seat as well before speaking again.

"Did you ever have a pet when you were growing up?"

"Yes, my family had a Siamese cat, and my mother had a pair of lovebirds. The cat enjoyed curling up next to me while I studied, and would often begin purring." Wufei got a soft look on his face as he said this. "Sometimes it seemed like Aoi was the only one who liked me for what I was, the rest of the clan felt I should have spent more of my time training rather than reading. She was named for her brilliant blue eyes. I must admit, I missed her when she passed away. I would not have any objections to you having a few animals in the house, depending on what they were."

"I was thinking about a few lions actually," Trowa replied, deadpan.

Wufei startled, beginning to object, but then he caught a glimpse of Trowa's slight smile and calmed down.

"Very funny, Trowa. I know you like lions, but I don't think they make good house pets. Perhaps you should elect for a smaller variety of cat, at least until your powers develop enough to ensure lions wouldn't go snack on anything they shouldn't."

"True," he agreed, getting up to turn off the now boiling kettle. He made two cups of green tea, handing one to Wufei. "What kind of pet would you suggest?"

"Hmm," he paused to take a sip of the tea. "This is good." Trowa nodded, acknowledging the compliment. "You may want to consider quite a variety, to see which kinds your powers work best with. Probably a dog and a cat, at the very least. Maybe something slightly more exotic as well, like a ferret. I wonder if your abilities would work on animals that aren't mammalian, like lizards, or fish. It would be something to look into."

"That's a good suggestion. I could put some koi into the pond you've made in the backyard, if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all. That would help keep it clean, and it wouldn't look suspicious for you to be sitting and looking at the fish, if any of our neighbours was curious."

Just then, they heard a car pull up in front of the house, some doors open and close, and then the car drove off again. Then the front door opened, and the rest of the pilots walked in. They joined Wufei and Trowa at the table. Quatre opened his mouth to ask something, but Trowa shook his head and he closed it without asking his question.

"Glad to see you're better, Wufei," said Heero briskly. "Trowa, did you want to talk about your pets now?"

"Sure, Wufei and I have come up with some ideas already." Turning to the rest of them, he said, "as all of you know, my powers have to do with animals. That means I need some to practice with, and I'd rather keep them here than at Headquarters. I was hoping that you all wouldn't mind if I kept a few pets here."

"You don't want lions...do you?" Duo asked warily.

Trowa laughed. "Well, I would, but that wouldn't work out too well. Wufei has agreed to let me keep koi in the pond, and suggested a dog, a cat, possibly a lizard, and something exotic, like a ferret." Since they were all looking at Trowa, noone saw Heero suddenly pale at the mention of a dog. But Quatre felt the sudden waves of guilt and old pain washing over him suddenly, and turned sharply to look at him. Heero was white as a sheet, and had his eyes closed as if he was in pain.

"Heero, what's wrong?" he asked urgently. At the sudden question, everyone turned to look at Heero.

"Does it have something to do with that girl and her dog you mentioned when we fought during the Mariemeia coup?" asked Wufei, concerned.

Heero nodded tightly.

"Why do you have such bad memories about them?" Quatre asked. He still didn't understand that there were some things in his friend's pasts that they'd rather not talk about.

Heero was about to refuse to answer, but reconsidered. They'd probably find out eventually, and it would be better to get it out now, especially if Trowa wanted a dog.

"It happened on one of my training missions for J. He sent me to blow up an Alliance base on a colony. I was supposed to set up the explosives during the day and blow it at night, when all the personnel would be on base. Setting the charges wasn't a problem, and I went and lay down in a nearby park afterwards. A little girl was walking her dog and came across me. She asked if I was lost." He paused for a moment. "I told her I'd been lost all my life. She replied that she wasn't lost, she was taking her dog, Mary, for a walk. She handed me a flower before being dragged off by her dog. I never got her name.

"Later that night, I went back to the base and set off the charges. But one of the Leos didn't blow properly, and fell into one of the apartment buildings nearby. I went to look for survivors in the rubble, and found Mary, dead. I killed that little girl and her dog. When I returned to J, he told me that his weapon couldn't afford to have human emotions and retrained me in an effort to erase my humanity. But I never forgot about her."

By the end of Heero's narrative, the rest of the pilots were looking at him in shock. They hadn't known that he'd accidentally killed an innocent before the war even started. And for J to have tried to erase his humanity was even more horrific. Wufei, however, was distracted. Throughout the story, he'd seen a faint outline that got stronger the longer Heero spoke. Once he had finished, it had solidified into a little girl in a sundress and wide-brimmed hat. She had a puppy by her side.

"Heero...I think someone has a message for you...," Wufei said hesitantly.

Heero's head whipped up. "A message? From who? I don't see anyone here. Or could it be..."

"Yes, my powers are working again. It appears to be that little girl." Heero touched Wufei on the shoulder, only intending it to be a silent thanks for his ability, but suddenly found he could see her as well. And hear her as well, faint though her voice was. Tears sprang to his eyes as she began to speak.

"It wasn't your fault, Heero. I know you never intended for that Leo to fall the way it did. I've never blamed you for what happened. I'm glad I got the chance to meet you, although I wish it had been longer. I've been watching over you throughout the war. You did the right thing, however hard it may have been. General Noventa sends his regards as well. He doesn't blame you for what happened, you couldn't have known. He says he's proud of you and the others for turning the peace he dreamed of into a reality. It's time you forgive yourself for things that happened in the past. Oh, and my name is Hannah." She was fading as she said this.

"Thank you, Hannah," Heero whispered. "And I know you've forgiven me, but I'm sorry. So very sorry. But I think I can let go of my guilt now."

She smiled brilliantly. "Good. That's all I wanted for you. Goodbye, Heero."

"Goodbye, Hannah. I'll never forget you." She smiled gently one last time, and faded away. When she vanished, Wufei slumped back into his chair, exhausted.

The others immediately wanted to know what had just happened, but Heero told them he needed some time to think it through on his own first, and got up and went to his room. They tried to ask Wufei, but he said it wasn't his story to tell, and went up to his room to sleep some more.

When Heero got into his room, he immediately locked the door and flopped down on the bed. He finally allowed himself all the tears of guilt and sorrow that he'd never allowed himself to shed before, for Hannah and Mary, and General Noventa, and all the other innocents who had died because of his actions. When he was done, he sat up to think things through.

_"She sounded so much wiser than she did when I met her. Death must give a person a new outlook on life. I can't believe she forgave me so easily though. I may not have meant for it to happen, but I should have prevented it somehow. It was my fault. The same with General Noventa. Treize might have tricked us, but I was still the one to shoot down his ship. I guess there's a difference between intellectually knowing that something was an accident, and your heart knowing that it wasn't your fault. Thank you, Hannah, for forgiving me."_

He walked over to his desk, grabbed his sketchpad, and began to draw. He didn't do it very often, but drawing was soothing to Heero, and he resolved to do it more often now that he wasn't in the middle of a war.

That night, when he went to bed, there was a sketch of a little girl and her dog lying on top of his desk. The girl was sitting in the lap of a teenage boy, smiling, while the dog ran around them both. The boy had a flower crown in his unruly chocolate brown hair, and he was smiling while a single tear fell down his cheek.

A.N. - Not as long as I was planning, for my first chapter after so long, but that felt like a good place to end it. If anyone has a better suggestion for the name of Wufei's cat or know's the little girl's real name, I'd be happy to hear them. I don't speak Chinese, so I had to use Japanese for the cat's name.


End file.
